2026-0385 GM On-Call Technical Consulting Services for Battery Energy Storage Systems

SANTA FE COUNTY
GROWTH MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
(RFP)
ON-CALL TECHNICAL CONSULTING
SERVICES FOR BATTERY ENERGY
STORAGE SYSTEMS
NM Commodity Code(s): 29082, 28504
RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
July 2026

RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE NO.
I. ADVERTISEMENT...............................................................................4
II. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................5
A. PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL ............................................5
B. BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................5
C. SCOPE OF WORK ................................................................................................5
D. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................6
E. PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST ..........................................................................7
F. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY .....................................................................7
III. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE PROCUREMENT.................................................9
A. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ....................................................................................9
B. EXPLANATION OF EVENTS ...........................................................................10
1. Issuance of RFP ..............................................................................................10
2. Pre-Proposal Conference ................................................................................10
3. Acknowledgement of Receipt Form Due .......................................................10
4. Deadline to Submit Additional Written Questions ........................................10
5. Response to Written Questions ......................................................................10
6. Submission of Proposals ................................................................................11
7. Proposal Evaluation .......................................................................................11
8. Selection of Finalists ......................................................................................11
9. Best and Final Offers from Finalists (If applicable) ......................................11
10. Oral Presentations by Finalists (If applicable) ...............................................12
11. Contract Negotiations ....................................................................................12
12. Contract Award ..............................................................................................12
13. Right to Protest ..............................................................................................12
C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS ...........................................................................13
1. Acceptance of Conditions Governing the Procurement .................................13
2. Incurring Cost ................................................................................................13
3. Prime Contractor Responsibility ....................................................................13
4. Subcontractors ................................................................................................13
5. Amended Proposals ........................................................................................13
6. Offerors' Rights to Withdraw Proposal .........................................................13
7. Proposal Offer Firm .......................................................................................14
8. Disclosure of Proposed Contents ...................................................................14
9. No Obligation .................................................................................................14
10. Termination....................................................................................................14
11. Sufficient Appropriation ................................................................................14
12. Legal Review .................................................................................................15
13. Governing Law ..............................................................................................15
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
14. Basis for Proposal .......................................................................................15
15. Contract Terms and Conditions ..................................................................15
16. Contract Deviations ....................................................................................15
17. Offeror Qualifications ................................................................................15
18. Right to Waive Minor Irregularities ...........................................................15
19. Change in Contractor Representatives .......................................................16
20. Notice .........................................................................................................16
21. County Rights .............................................................................................16
22. Right to Publish ..........................................................................................16
23. Ownership of Proposals ............................................................................16
24. Electronic Mail Address Recommended ....................................................16
25. Preference in Procurement by Santa Fe County .........................................16
26. Double-Sided Documents ...........................................................................18
27. Living Wage ...............................................................................................18
IV. RESPONSE FORMAT AND ORGANIZATION ........................................................19
A. NUMBER OF RESPONSES ...............................................................................19
B. NUMBER OF COPIES .......................................................................................19
C. PROPOSAL FORMAT .......................................................................................19
1. Proposal Organization ....................................................................................19
2. Letter of Transmittal ......................................................................................20
V. SPECIFICATIONS .......................................................................................................21
A. INFORMATION .................................................................................................21
1. Time Frame ........................................................................................................21
B. EVALUATION CRITERIA ................................................................................21
1. Technical Competence and Specialized Experience .......................................21
2. Evidence of Understanding Scope of Work ....................................................21
3. Capacity and Capability ...................................................................................21
4. Past Record and Performance ..........................................................................22
5. Proximity to/or Familiarity with Site Location....................................22
6. New Mexico Produced Work............................................. 22
7. Volume of work Previously Done................................................. .22
VI. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS ...............................................................................23
A. EVALUATION SCORING .................................................................................23
B. EVALUATION PROCESS .................................................................................23
APPENDICES
A. Acknowledgement of Receipt Form ....................................................................25
B. Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form ............................................................26
C. Resident Veterans Preference Certification .........................................................29
D. Volume of Work Previously Done ....................................................................30
E. Sample Agreement....................................................................... 31
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
I. ADVERTISEMENT
SANTA FE COUNTY
ON-CALL BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM TECHNICAL CONSULTING
SERVICES
RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
Santa Fe County requests proposals from qualified vendors or firms to provide services of a
technical expert related to Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), that include lithium-ion and
other battery storage technologies. All proposals submitted shall be valid for ninety (90) days
subject to action by the County. All proposals must be submitted by 2:00PM on Friday, August
21, 2026, and shall be submitted electronically utilizing Dropbox. Please utilize this link to upload
your proposal submission. https://www.dropbox.com/request/h3br4spzdnqm5tgvekvi
By submitting a proposal for the services requested, each Offeror is certifying that they are a
qualified firm and its proposal complies with the requirements stated within the Request for
Proposals.
A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held at 10:00 AM (MDT) on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 online
via Microsoft Teams using link provided below and meeting number: 224 738 564 859 32
Passcode: 78u8aH9P or by calling (773) 352-2011 meeting number: 382811209#, conference ID:
382 811 209#. The pre-proposal is non-mandatory, but attendance is strongly recommended.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/join-a-meeting
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: All qualified Offerors will receive consideration of
contract(s) without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin, ancestry, age, physical and
mental handicap, serious medical condition, disability, spousal affiliation, sexual orientation or gender
identity.
Request for Proposals will be available by contacting John Anthony Peperas, Procurement
Specialist Senior, 102 Grant Avenue, (1st Floor) Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, or by telephone at
505-986-6218, or by email at jpeperas@santafecountynm.gov or on our website at
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/finance/purchasing-division/current-bid-solicitations.
PROPOSALS RECEIVED AFTER THE DATE AND TIME SPECIFIED ABOVE WILL NOT
BE CONSIDERED AND WILL BE REJECTED BY SANTA FE COUNTY.
Santa Fe County
Published: July 19 & 20, 2026
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
II. INTRODUCTION
A. PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Santa Fe County (SFC) desires to contract with multiple firms with fire safety and
engineering expertise to provide a technical review specific to Battery Energy Storage
Systems (BESS), specifically to include lithium-ion and/or other battery storage
technologies. Offerors must be knowledgeable with BESS fire protection requirements as
well as the BESS installation, commissioning and decommissioning. Having multiple
contracts with qualified consultants in this field of expertise will ensure timely review of
development applications for the County.
B. BACKGROUND
The Growth Management Department is responsible that all private and public
developments that are proposed to be constructed within Santa Fe County boundaries are
in compliance with the County's Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC). The
Department receives multiple applications from Developers that contain development and
design specifications and plans for the construction of solar facilities in Santa Fe County
that involve Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Due to this emerging technology the
County requires engineering services with fire safety expertise to ensure that the proposed
plans conform with the SLDC . The consultants will be required to review final
construction drawings for each proposed development and report any and all compliance
variances or issues with the development plans to Growth Management and County Fire
Compliance Officers.
C. SCOPE OF WORK
The firm selected shall provide the following services:
1. Review and ensure compliance with applicable codes, including but not limited to the
following:
a) Santa Fe County Ordinances 2023-06 and 2023-09 or current
b) Current International Fire Code (IFC)
c) Current International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC)
d) Current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 855 Standard
e) Current Santa Fe County Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC)
2. Review application for Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to determine completeness of
application, including:
a) Review of applicable studies, as required by staff.
b) Conduct research necessary to substantiate staff's recommendation.
c) Review proposed location and features of BESS and preliminary site plan.
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
d) Attend at least two public hearings to provide expert testimony on proposed project
design, technology and safety features.
3. Review BESS submittal, and required re-submittals, in accordance with IFC, NFPA
855, and other applicable codes and standards for compliance, accuracy, and overall
safety, included but not limited to the following:
a) Fire and explosion testing data.
b) Hazard Mitigation Plan.
c) Calculations or modeling data to determine compliance with NFPA 68 and 69.
d) Other test data, evaluation information, or calculations required by NFPA 855.
e) Emergency Operations and Response Plans.
f) Pre-Incident Plan.
g) Smoke and gas plume analysis.
h) Construction plans, technical data and information provided by applicant.
i) Compliance with applicable local, state and federal codes.
j) Commissioning plan and testing reports
k) Fire protection measures and technologies applicable to lithium-io and other types of
storage systems.
l) Thermal runaway causes and their mitigation.
D. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
The insurance required by Offeror are listed below.
1. General Conditions. Contractor shall submit evidence of insurance as is required
herein. Policies of insurance shall be written by companies authorized to write such
insurance in New Mexico.
2. General Liability Insurance, Including Automobile. Contractor shall procure and
maintain during the life of this Agreement a comprehensive general liability and
automobile insurance policy with liability limits in amounts not less than $1,000,000
combined single limits of liability for bodily injury, including death, and property
damage for any one occurrence. Said policies of insurance shall include coverage
for all operations performed for County by Contractor; coverage for the use of all
owned, non-owned, hired automobiles, vehicles and other equipment, both on and
off work; and contractual liability coverage under which this Agreement is an
insured contract. County of Santa Fe shall be a named additional insured on the
policy.
3. Workers' Compensation Insurance. Contractor shall comply with the provisions of
the Workers' Compensation Act.
4. Professional Liability Insurance. The Contractor shall procure and maintain during
the life of this Agreement a Professional Liability Insurance.
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
5. Increased Limits. If, during the life of this Agreement, the Legislature of the State
of New Mexico increases the maximum limits of liability under the Tort Claims Act
(NMSA 1978, Sections 41-4-1 through 41-4-29, as amended), Contractor shall
increase the maximum limits of any insurance required herein.
E. DESIGNATED PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST
The County has designated a Procurement Specialist who is responsible for the conduct of
this procurement whose name, address and telephone number is listed below. All deliveries
via express carrier should be addressed as follows:
John Anthony Peperas, Procurement Specialist Senior
Santa Fe County Purchasing Division
102 Grant Avenue, First Floor
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: (505) 986-6218
Email: jpeperas@santafecountynm.gov
Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement should be submitted to the
Procurement Specialist in writing. Offerors may ONLY contact the Procurement
Specialist listed above regarding the procurement. Any contact with any County
Employees other than person listed above may be grounds for disqualifications.
F. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY
This section contains definitions and abbreviations that are used throughout this
procurement document.
"BCC" means the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners
"Close of Business" means 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time or Mountain Daylight Time,
whichever is in effect on the date given.
"Contract" or "Agreement" means a written agreement for the procurement of items of
tangible personal property or services.
"Contractor" means a successful offeror who enters into a binding contract.
"County" means Santa Fe County.
"Determination" means the written documentation of a decision by the Procurement Manager
including findings of fact supporting a decision. A determination becomes part of the
procurement file.
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
"Desirable" The terms "may", "can", "should", "preferably", or "prefers" to identify a
desirable or discretionary item or factor (as opposed to "mandatory").
"Evaluation Committee" means a body appointed by the County management to perform the
evaluation of offeror proposals.
"Finalist" is defined as an offeror who meets all the mandatory specifications of this Request
for Proposals and whose score on evaluation factors is sufficiently high to merit further
consideration by the Evaluation Committee.
"Mandatory" The terms "must", "shall", "will", "is required", or "are required", identify a
mandatory item or factor (as opposed to "desirable"). Failure to meet a mandatory item or
factor will result in the rejection of the offeror's proposal.
"Offeror" is any person, corporation, or partnership who chooses to submit a proposal.
"Procurement Manager" means the person or designee authorized by the County and the
State of New Mexico to make all procurement determinations pursuant to NMSA 1978,
Chapter 13 of the State Procurement Code and County Purchasing Regulations and Policies.
"Purchasing Division" means the Santa Fe County Purchasing Division, County Manager
Department.
"Procurement Specialist" means the person or designee authorized by the Procurement
Manager to administer and manage the procurement.
"Request for Proposals" or "RFP" pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 13-1-111. Competitive
sealed proposals; conditions for use and means all documents, including those attached or
incorporated by reference, used for soliciting proposals.
"Responsible Offeror" means an offeror who submits a responsive proposal and who has
furnished, when required, information and data to prove that its financial resources, production
or service facilities, personnel, service reputation and experience are adequate to make
satisfactory delivery of the services or items of tangible personal property described in the
RFP.
"Responsive Offer" or "Responsive Proposal" means an offer or proposal which conforms in
all material respects to the requirements set forth in the request for proposals. Material
respects of a request for proposals include, but are not limited to, price, quality, quantity or
delivery requirements.
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
III. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE PROCUREMENT
This section of the RFP contains the schedule for the procurement, describes the major
procurement events and the conditions governing the procurement.
A. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The Procurement Manager will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:
Action Responsibility Date
1. Issuance of RFP Purchasing Division July 19 & 20, 2026
2 . Pre-Proposal Conference Owner/Offerors/ July 28, 2026
Purchasing 10:00 AM
3. Acknowledgement of Receipt Form Offerors July 29, 2026
4. Deadline to Submit Additional Questions Offerors July 30, 2026
5. Response to Written Questions Purchasing Division August 6, 2026
6. Submission of Proposal Offerors August 21, 2026
2:00 PM
7. Proposal Evaluation Review Evaluation Committee August 21-September. 4,
2026
8. Selection of Finalist Evaluation Committee September, 2026
9. Oral Presentation by Finalists Offeror September, 2026
(if applicable)
10. Contract Negotiations County, Offeror September, 2026
11. Contract Award Purchasing Division October ,2026
Note: If the Evaluation Committee makes a selection at the Selection of Finalists, event 9 will
not occur.
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RFP No. 2026-0385-GM/JP
B. EXPLANATION OF EVENTS
The following paragraphs describe the activities listed in the sequence of events shown in
Section III, Paragraph A.
1. Issuance of RFP
This RFP is being issued by the Santa Fe County Growth Management Department
and the Purchasing Division.
2. Pre-Proposal Conference
A Pre-Proposal Conference is scheduled to occur on the date indicated in the Sequence
of Events at Section III.A. Questions may be submitted at the Pre-Proposal
Conference and until the date indicated in the Sequence of Events at Section III.A.
All questions must be in writing and e-mailed to jpeperas@santafecountynm.gov
A public log will be kept of the names of potential offerors who attended the Pre-
Proposal Conference.
3. Acknowledgement of Receipt Form
Potential offerors should hand-deliver, return by facsimile or e-mail the
Acknowledgement of Receipt Form provided as Appendix A to have its name and
firm placed on the procurement distribution list. The form should be signed by an
authorized representative of the organization, dated and returned by close of business
on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
The procurement distribution list will be used for the distribution of written
responses to questions and any RFP addenda.
4. Deadline to Submit Additional Written Questions
Potential offerors may submit written questions regarding this RFP until the close of
business on the date indicated in the Sequence of Events at Section III.A. All
written questions must be addressed to the Procurement Specialist, listed in Section
II.E and sent via facsimile or e-mail. Any contact with any other County staff
member or persons other than the Procurement Specialist named in this
solicitation may be grounds for disqualification.
5. Response to Written Questions
Written responses to written questions and any RFP addenda will be distributed on
the date indicated in the Sequence of Events at Section III.A, to all potential offerors
whose names appear on the procurement distribution list.
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