Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Renewable Energy Solar topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District to pursue solar RFP with third‑party facilitator; staff cautions about $10,000 breakup fee if project stopped
Summary
Facilities staff recommended hiring Nenea to run a solar request-for-proposal (RFP) and feasibility process; the company charges a breakup fee of $10,000 if the district does not select a contractor. Staff said Vernon Hills roofs are most promising for arrays and the district is considering a power‑purchase agreement.
District staff told the board July 28 they want to engage Nenea to facilitate a solar procurement process and feasibility analysis, then issue an RFP to select a contractor and financing structure. The board was told Nenea is a facilitator — not the installer — and that the firm would help design the RFP, solicit contractors, and identify viable financing such as a power‑purchase agreement (PPA).
Why it matters: A PPA or other third‑party financing could lower the district’s electricity costs and use school roof space for solar arrays, but staff warned the facilitator model includes a potential $10,000 non‑selection fee if the district stops the process after detailed design work.
Dan Stanley and Mark Coopman described preliminary feasibility work that recommended focusing on Vernon Hills High School because of larger usable roof areas; Libertyville High has limited roof area appropriate for solar. Stanley said the process to engage Nenea would mark a pause point: if the district elects not to proceed after facilitator work, it would owe a $10,000 breakup fee to Nenea, or the facilitator’s fee could be bundled into the contractor price if the board approves a project and selects a vendor.
Board members asked for clarity about the fee and the decision points. Stanley and others described the $10,000 as a limited cost intended to offset facilitator design work only if the district does not proceed to a selected contractor and noted the district had checked references with nearby districts that used the firm.
The administration said it would return with procurement documentation and a recommended vendor selection for board approval if the RFP yields a contractor the district wants to hire under the proposed financing arrangement.
