Cuyahoga County of Ohio has released a request for information (RFI) for an upcoming 63 MW solar project in the area. Cuyahoga Green Energy, on behalf of the county, is requesting information from companies interested in becoming equipment suppliers for the project developed through the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program.
Cuyahoga Green Energy, the electricity distribution company, has received an award US EPA grant totaling $130 millionthat will be used to build 63 MW of solar, in addition to 10 MW of battery storage, on six brownfields and/or former landfills in the Cleveland metropolitan area by October 2029. This RFI aims to identify and establish lines of contact with manufacturers. interested in providing the necessary materials and services for the successful completion of this project within the deadline set by EPA.
Specifically, the province aims to competitively purchase solar panels, racking systems, inverters and other relevant equipment to develop these projects with the following qualifications:
- Panels must be both Build America, Buy America (BABA) certified AND compliant with the Buy American Act.
- Panels must be compatible with solar energy development on landfills and brownfields. The county is currently looking at ground-mounted panels with ballasted rack systems, but is open to other viable alternatives, if available.
- Panels must have satisfactory conversion efficiency to enable utility-scale solar energy within the limits of available subsidy funding.
- Inverters must be sufficiently efficient and reliable to minimize losses over the life of the system.
- Mounting materials and panels must be able to withstand high winds and increasingly severe weather conditions typical of the local geography.
Comments should be submitted via email to the issuing department contact (Thomas Pavich, tpavich@cuyahogacounty.gov) with the RFI name and number in the subject line. Comments must be received no later than Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 11 a.m. More details can be found here.
