REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Published: April 28, 2025 

Bids Due: May 27, 2025 by 5:00 p.m. EST

Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg invites proposals from contractors specializing in the design and installation of residential and commercial solar photovoltaic and battery storage systems to participate in a community-wide Solarize campaign for homeowners, business owners and nonprofit organizations in the City of Charlotte, Town of Davidson, and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina area. 

PRE-BID MEETING

Thank you to those able to attend the pre-bid meeting on May 8, 2025. A recording of the meeting and presentation are posted below. Please direct any questions to admin@solarizecharmeck.com. 

Pre-Bid Meeting Recording

Pre-Bid Meeting Presentation Slides

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg is a community-based program for solar energy, battery storage, and other clean energy technologies consisting of the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Town of Davidson, Centralina, Solar Crowdsource and other participating communities. 

The objectives of the Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg program are:

• Making solar energy more affordable: lower the cost of solar energy through the power of group-purchasing and reduced acquisition costs. Pass savings on to residents and businesses of Mecklenburg County; 
• Making solar energy more accessible: predetermined, highly-vetted materials, pricing, and contractor(s) through a competitive bid process;
• Education and community engagement: widespread community engagement, education, and outreach activities through town hall meetings, workshops, solar “open house” gatherings, and outreach through local community groups and events; 
• Promoting solar-positive policies: encourage local governments to adopt streamlined solar energy permitting policies and fair utility distributed generation policies. Advance greenhouse gas reduction goals, clean-energy production, workforce development opportunities, and other community policy objectives; and 
• Giving back: A portion of campaign proceeds will be used to help to underwrite solar-energy systems for qualified low- and moderate-Income families with high energy burdens.
• LMI component: provide additional support to buy down the upfront costs of solar energy systems for income qualified low- and moderate-income (“LMI”) households in participating communities to help promote sustainability and reduce energy burdens.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

Attachment E: DOE Special Terms and Conditions

Attachment F: Centralina Agreement

Attachment G: Solar Crowdsource Agreement

Contact Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Questions related to this RFP should be directed to admin@solarizecharmeck.com only.

Do not contact members of partner organizations. 

All questions will be answered promptly and posted below. 

Note: the Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg coalition understands the current high-tariff environment has created a great deal of uncertainty around some technologies and materials, and more specifically Chinese-made battery storage, contemplated as part of this RFP. This is an unprecedented situation and campaign organizers are prepared to work with bidding contractors to mitigate pricing uncertainty, loss revenue to contractor, and future price changes that could undermine the goals and objectives of this campaign. Please email us at admin@solarizecharmeck.com with any news, updates, or questions related to how tariffs will impact your proposal. 

Questions and Answers

(all questions and answers submitted to the email address above will be posted here)

Question:  the current tariffs levied on Chinese-made batteries make it difficult to provide a reliable price in our bids. How can we accurately price battery systems in our bids in market conditions that are uncertain?

Answer: bidders may bid batteries and any other non-domestic materials subject to variable and uncertain tariff amounts by providing your price pre-tariff plus the amount of the tariff. For example: 

[pre-tariff $ amount] + [tariff % amount]

Providing the pre-tariff amount of the material will enable the RFP Working Group to compare bid amount regardless of the amount of the tariff.