Port of Bellingham Energy Transition Plan
| Location: | Washington |
|---|---|
| Posted: | Feb 27, 2026 |
| Due: | Mar 27, 2026 |
| Agency: | Port of Bellingham |
| Type of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: | |
| Solicitation No: | PS 26-1 |
| Publication URL: | To access bid details, please log in. |
| Bid Number: |
PS 26-1
|
| Bid Title: |
Port of Bellingham Energy Transition Plan
|
| Category: | Personal Services |
| Status: | Open |
|
Attachment Preview
Port of Bellingham
Request for Proposals- The Port of Bellingham Energy Transition Plan
The Port of Bellingham (Port) issues this Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit responses from qualified
consulting firms with demonstrated expertise in energy transition planning for maritime and industrial
facilities. The Port seeks a consultant team capable of providing energy innovation planning, resilience
analysis, electrification and alternative-fuel scenario development, life cycle and techno-economic
evaluation, grant management support, workforce transition assessment, and community and stakeholder
engagement for the Port’s marine terminals and associated facilities.
This planning effort is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Ports
Program: Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition. The selected consultant will support the Port and
its subrecipient, the National Lab of the Rockies, in developing a comprehensive, community-informed
Energy Transition Plan to guide future policy decisions and capital investments that advance emissions
reduction and energy resilience.
All RFP submittals must be received via email no later than 5:00 PM (PT) on 03/27/2026. The Port plans
to schedule interviews with selected teams within two (2) weeks of the submittal deadline.
Electronic submittals must be submitted in PDF format only. Maximum 20 pages and 20MB file size.
Please direct inquiries, requests for background material and submittals to:
Adrienne Douglass-Scott
Sustainability Program Manager
Adrienned@portofbellingham.com
360-319-7255
Project Purpose
The Port of Bellingham is undertaking a three-year energy transition planning effort for its shipping terminals and
other waterfront facilities. The purpose of this RFP is to procure a consultant team to provide strategic planning,
technical analysis, grant management and compliance support, stakeholder and community engagement, workforce
development analysis, and implementation road-mapping to help the Port transition from fossil-fuel dependence
toward electrification and resilient alternative energy systems (e.g., shore power, renewable generation, energy
storage, hydrogen and methanol).
The consultant will support the development of a community-informed Port Energy Innovation Plan that:
• Establishes a baseline of current energy use and air pollutant emissions.
• Forecasts future energy demand under multiple electrification and alternative-fuel scenarios aligned with
anticipated Port growth.
• Identifies up to three (3) feasible Port-wide energy transition scenarios and compares them using life-cycle
analysis (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA).
• Assesses energy system vulnerabilities and resilience strategies, including preliminary microgrid concepts at 3
areas, likely the Bellingham Shipping Terminal, Fairhaven and Squalicum Harbor (SQH) areas.
• Completes a workforce development assessment and develops implementable workforce transition initiatives.
• Develops and supports a community and stakeholder engagement framework and integrates feedback into
planning recommendations.
The Port anticipates initiating this contract in May 2026 and completing all contracted work by October 31, 2028.
The consultant will work closely with Port staff, the National Lab of the Rockies, tenants, utilities, organized
labor/workforce partners, and community stakeholders.
1
Scope of Work
Proposals must include a detailed work plan addressing, at a minimum, the tasks and deliverables below. The Port
may refine sequencing with the selected consultant during contract negotiation. Work will include close
coordination with Port staff, tenants/operators, utilities, workforce partners, and community stakeholders, including
multiple in-person workshops/site visits in Bellingham and around Whatcom County. More details are available in
the Clean Ports Narrative, under tasks 1-3 and 5-7.
• Task 1. Energy System Resilience: Goals, Risks, and Priority Setting: Using input from key stakeholders,
assess energy system vulnerabilities, risks, and transition priorities to guide scenario design and target setting.
• Task 2. Emissions Inventories and Load Forecasting for Tenant Equipment & Key Facilities: As-needed
support for developing baseline inventories and load forecasts to quantify current/future emissions and energy
demand for Port tenants and facilities. The key responsible party for this task is NLR.
• Task 3. Transition Scenario Development and Microgrid Concepts: As-needed support to develop and compare
electrification and low-carbon fuel transition pathways aligned with Port growth and resilience needs.
• Task 4. Stakeholder & Community Engagement: Design and facilitate engagement to inform datasets,
scenarios, and recommendations. Develop a stakeholder-informed community engagement strategy.
• Task 5. Workforce Development Assessment & Implementation Support: Assess workforce impacts of the
energy transition and propose implementable training/transition initiatives;
• Task 6: Energy Transition Plan document, including feasibility analyses of options.
• Task 7. Project management: Provide the Port with ongoing grant compliance and reporting support for their
EPA award, as identified by the Port grants team, including tracking milestones/deliverables, preparing
technical progress documentation, and coordinating grant-related communications and tasks with project
partners as needed.
Workplan Proposal
Please submit a high-level project schedule outlining all project task timelines, broken down into quarters.
Proposals must also include total costs.
Minimum Qualifications
The consultant team should demonstrate exceptional knowledge and experience in the following areas:
• Port, maritime, industrial, or transportation industry energy transition planning, including electrification and
alternative fuels.
• Baseline energy and emissions inventory development and load forecasting using utility, fuel, equipment, and
tenant/operator data.
• Life-cycle analysis (LCA) for emissions and energy pathways.
• Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and scenario comparison for infrastructure and fuel transitions.
• Energy resilience planning for critical facilities, including risk and vulnerability assessment.
• Microgrid feasibility assessment and conceptual/preliminary design (generation, storage, controls, and
interconnection).
• Stakeholder and community engagement planning for infrastructure and/or energy projects.
• Federal grant management and compliance support, including tracking requirements and preparing progress
reports/documentation for EPA Clean Ports or similar programs.
• Workforce development and economic transition assessment tied to clean energy technologies, including
coordination with workforce councils, education/training providers, and labor partners.
• Familiarity with relevant federal and state maritime electrification and clean ports funding programs and
associated reporting requirements.
• Experience coordinating with utilities, terminal tenants/operators, labor/workforce partners, educational
institutions, and community organizations.
2
Scoring and Firm Selection
Responses will be reviewed and scored by a project team consisting of Port staff. Submittals must include
a cover letter, clearly address the criteria below, and not exceed 20MB, exclusive of attachments. Scores
will be applied as follows:
1. Team Qualifications and Project Experience (50 points)
a) Demonstrated project management experience
b) Demonstrated experience leading energy transition plans for ports, maritime facilities, industrial sites, or
transportation systems.
c) Proven capability in LCA/TEA, baseline development, electrification/alternative-fuel scenario modeling,
and resilience planning.
d) Experience developing microgrid or distributed-energy conceptual designs for critical facilities.
e) Experience conducting workforce development or economic transition assessments tied to clean-energy
initiatives.
f) Demonstrated experience implementing or supporting workforce transition/training initiatives in maritime
or industrial contexts.
g) Experience designing and supporting community/stakeholder engagement processes in infrastructure or
energy contexts.
h) Demonstrated experience providing grant management/compliance support for federally funded
infrastructure or planning projects.
2. Project Approach (25 points)
a) Proposed cost is within the budget in the approved grant budget table
b) Clear narrative of the proposed technical approach by task.
c) Approach to coordination with Port staff, subrecipients, utilities, tenants/operators, workforce partners, and
community stakeholders, including a stakeholder-informed community engagement strategy
d) Proposed schedule aligned with 2026-2028 deliverables and EPA reporting requirements.
e) Identification of project risks, data constraints, and mitigation strategies.
3. Demonstrated Ability to Perform Services (25 points)
a) Key personnel assignments, credentials/licensure (as applicable), and relevant expertise.
b) Ability to manage multi-year planning efforts with limited oversight.
c) Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) process for analyses and deliverables.
d) Three (3) to five (5) representative projects of similar scale/complexity, including references.
e) Team accessibility to Bellingham and the ability to support in-person events and workshops.
Appendices
1. EPA Clean Ports Narrative
2. Sample Contract
3
(1) Cover Page:
Project Title
Applicant Information
Type of Eligible
Applicant
Budget Summary
Port of Bellingham Energy Transition Plan
Port of Bellingham
1801 Roeder Ave., Bellingham WA 98225
Adrienne Douglass-Scott, Sustainability Program Manager
360-319-7255
AdrienneD@PortofBellingham.com
Port
EPA Funding Requested: $1,525,892
Project Location(s)
Port of Bellingham
Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington
100% of the activity will occur in Whatcom County.
The Port of Bellingham is a small water port
Project Period
Project Start Date: December 1,
2024
Project End Date: December 31, 2028
Short Project
Description
The Project develops an energy transition plan for the Port as a whole,
focusing on resiliency and long term emissions reductions, with an emphasis
on the Bellingham Shipping Terminal, Squalicum Harbor and the Bellingham
Cruise terminal. It develops specific action plans with measurable energy,
emissions and diesel particulate reductions goals and builds on significant
emissions inventories and planning work done by the Port and in the region.
Please indicate which of the following planning activities are included in the
project:
_x_ Emissions inventory and/or accounting practice
_x_ Emissions reduction strategy analysis
_X_ Development of emissions reduction target
_x_ Plan for reducing future port emissions
_x_ Port resiliency assessment
_x_ Plan to increase resilience of port
_x_ Formal stakeholder engagement
_x_ Workforce planning analysis
__ Other activity (please specify)
Other Potential
Federal Funding
Sources
Use of Logistics
Software
The Port of Bellingham is also applying for funding from the Clean Ports
Clean Ports ZE Deployment Program Competition related to, but not
dependent on, this project.
The applicant does NOT use LOGINK or any other prohibited logistics
platform as described in Section III.D. of the NOFO.
1
(2) Workplan:
Section 1- Project Summary and Approach Overall Project
The Port of Bellingham (the Port) requests $1,525,892 in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition (the Program) to prioritize areas for transitioning to
alternative energy and identify specific measures to reduce maritime and Port emissions.
This Port of Bellingham Energy Transition Plan (the Project) will be managed through the Port’s
Sustainability Program and will move forward several key goals from our 2023 Climate Action Strategy. It
also builds on our existing Building and Infrastructure Energy Management Program, and our Renewable
Energy Program, which has installed the largest publicly owned solar array in Whatcom County on the
Bellingham Cruise Terminal and is installing another of the same size at the Bellingham International
Airport in 2024. We have completed numerous other solar feasibility studies throughout Port property.
The Project will also benefit the Port’s budgets through identification of cost saving priorities, economic
growth potential, energy independence and innovation.
The Port completed a baseline emissions inventory for the calendar year 2019 and using that
information was able to prioritize emission categories for reduction. These are specified in more detail
in Figure 1 and in our 2023 Climate Action Strategy.1 Subsequent inventories were completed for 2022
and 2023, and these show reductions over time. All inventories until now focused on Port controlled
emissions (Scope 1) or emissions Port from purchased electricity and natural gas (Scope 2), with a small
amount of Scope 3 added.
The emissions from tenant activities, including vehicles, equipment and cargo handling have
thus far not been included in the Port’s emissions inventories. This Program funding will increase that
knowledge, strengthen the work already done, increase engagement with the community and identify
priority areas for further feasibility and design of specific electrification and alternative fuels
infrastructure projects.
The Port is the largest property owner and harbor facility in Whatcom County, which is 95 miles
north of Seattle on the northern edge of Puget Sound and 25 miles south of the US/Canadian border. It
is the connection for marine traffic in Puget sound, barges on the M5 Americas Marine Highway, and
vessels heading north to communities in British Columbia and Alaska. We have one of the largest cold
storage facilities on the West Coast and support a strong maritime economy and community.
This Project is a good fit for our expertise, interest and public expectations. Through the Port’s Marine,
Aviation and Real Estate divisions supports more than 8,780 jobs, or approximately 11% of local
employment2. The Port’s mission statement is “to promote sustainable economic development, optimize
transportation gateways, and manage publicly owned land and facilities to benefit Whatcom County”.
One of the Port’s core values is “to be a valuable public organization with a reputation for delivering on
its commitments, working in an open, decisive atmosphere, taking pride in its work, and communicating
its contributions to the community.” The Port is engaged in numerous projects to ensure the protection
of its assets and those of its tenants and customers from the effects of extreme weather events. In 2018,
the Port installed empty heating and cooling pipes with other utilities in the nearby waterfront district,
and in 2024 a District Energy system came into operation. This supplies heating and cooling for the
entire campus of buildings at the waterfront just north of the BST, using waste heat from a nearby PSE
electricity generation plant.
1 https://www.portofbellingham.com/1007/Key-Work-Products
2 Port of Bellingham
2
This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.
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