Description of goods or services to be bid:

PON 4809 – Round 2

Through this solicitation – EBC Phase II: Low Carbon Retrofits Implementation (PON 4809) – NYSERDA is only accepting proposals from Empire Building Challenge Partners (“EBC Partners” or “Partners”). Partners from Cohort 1 (those selected through Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 4498 in 2020, and Cohort 2 (those selected through PON 4987 in 2022) are eligible to apply. EBC Partners can request up to $3 million for the design and implementation of replicable and scalable low carbon retrofit projects at their participating EBC buildings. Demonstrating the feasibility of such large-scale retrofits with an exclusive focus on tall buildings and thermal system solutions is crucial to addressing the unique set of technical barriers to decarbonization these buildings face: their height and density make it significantly more challenging to find technical pathways to carbon neutrality.

The following changes have been made to PON 4809 – Empire Building Challenge (Phase II: Low Carbon Retrofit Implementation)

Due Date

•Due date for the second funding round has been added: December 6, 2022

Funding

•Added $18 million to the solicitation for the second round of funding.

•Updated eligibility requirements to include all EBC Partners (selected through PON 4498 and PON 4987), who haven’t yet received funding through the Program.

•Maximum incentive award per EBC Partner has been reduced from $5 million to $3 million.

Project Eligibility

•The EBC Program is only seeking projects that focus on decarbonizing building thermal systems.

Evaluation Criteria

•Removed the following stand-alone evaluation criteria: Carbon emissions reduction, $/metric ton of CO2e reduction, Peak load reduction, Project Timeline. A Project’s timeline will be evaluated as part of the overall Carbon Neutrality Roadmap. All other evaluation criteria remain the same.

Proposal Requirements

•A new Template is provided for the Carbon Neutrality Roadmap, which all Proposers must use to develop their Carbon Neutrality Roadmaps. The Template is in Attachment A.

•Proposers are no longer required to submit the Strategic Decarbonization Assessment (SDA) Tool as part of their submissions. However, all Proposers must fill out Attachment A, which includes a section called “Business Case”. The Business Case section of the Template captures essential project-specific capital planning information all Proposers should provide.

•A new Data Collection Form is provided that all Proposers must fill out and submit with their proposals. This Data Collection Form is in Attachment B.

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The Empire Building Challenge (EBC) supports replicable and scalable low carbon retrofit approaches to achieving carbon neutrality in existing large and tall buildings. Announced in the 2020 State of the State address, EBC is a public-private partnership between NYSERDA and leading commercial and multifamily real estate portfolio owners to:

• Develop and demonstrate low carbon retrofit approaches that can be replicated across the State’s tall commercial office and multifamily buildings.

• Recruit best-in-class equipment manufacturers, solution providers and other businesses to invest in business development, innovation and product development, to overcome the barriers preventing tall buildings in NYS from achieving carbon neutrality.

• Establish New York State as a global hub for low carbon retrofits, through public-private partnerships that maximize private sector investments in building retrofits, create good jobs and promote local economic development, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions

The EBC will support Projects that focus on deploying innovative thermal solutions, including but not limited to: heat recovery, thermal storage, advanced heat pumps, low temperature hydronics and other innovative thermal distribution, and advanced system integrations.

If goods or services are made to this solicitation notification will be posted on NYSERDA’s website at: www.nyserda.ny.gov/funding-opportunities

Eligibility/Qualifications Requirements/Preferences:

Through this solicitation – EBC Phase II: Low Carbon Retrofits Implementation (PON 4809) – NYSERDA is only accepting proposals from Empire Building Challenge Partners (“EBC Partners” or “Partners”). Partners from Cohort 1 (those selected through Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 4498 in 2020, and Cohort 2 (those selected through PON 4987 in 2022) are eligible to apply.