Delaware County to issue its own solar RFP after joint bids rejected; prison site dropped

County sustainability staff reported that a multi-county solicitation through the Sustainable Energy Partnership received bids that were "much higher than anticipated" and lacked required guarantees and local staffing details, prompting counties to reject the bids on June 12. Staff said Delaware County will move forward with its own request for proposals to secure power‑purchase agreement and Direct Pay pricing for county sites, telling commissioners: "This is going out as of July 14, so next week, before the county council meeting."

Staff also said the county is narrowing the scope of sites it will pursue and "is dropping the prison from the solicitation as we recognize it's a little bit too large, to realistically get done by the 12/31/2027 deadline." The update included relighting work at the Government Center that awaits a Buy America waiver, and a separate relighting contract that will begin soon at the Emergency Services Center; staff advised the commission those relighting costs are not subject to the same federal procurement requirement.