GUELPH – The county’s joint social services committee has endorsed a recommendation that would see solar panels installed on the roofs of three county-owned residential buildings at a cost of more than half a million dollars.
“I think this is a terrific project, and I love what we’re doing with the solar panels,” councillor Campbell Cork commented during the Nov. 13 committee meeting.
But he went on to question how staff had arrived at its recommendation of awarding the contract for design and installation of the rooftop solar photovoltaic systems to VCT Group of Kitchener.
The company’s total bid price of $578,736, exclusive of HST, was far from the lowest bid received from eight contractors who responded to the request for proposal and attended mandatory site visits.
“There’s nothing in here that explains why we’re not taking the lowest bid,” Cork said, referencing the report attached to the meeting’s agenda.
According to that report, companies that responded to the request for proposals were scored on a 100-point scale, and while pricing held the greatest weight at 40 points, companies were scored on four other factors.
System features and warranties were worth 30 points, and there were 10 points each for company profile, past project experience, and project management and team profile.
“VCT Group scored highest in all categories,” manager of purchasing and risk management services Jackie Osti told the committee.
“Their proposal provided the best balance of competitive pricing, proven experience and superior system features and warranties, making them the most suitable candidate for this project,” stated the report.
Guelph Mayor Cam wondered what had prevented Guelph Solar Mechanical Inc. – a local company whose total bid price of $503,847 was slightly lower – from being the recommended candidate.
“The chart that’s included in the report really only highlights the price,” Guthrie said.
Prices ranged from $265,479 at the low end to $639,000 at the high end.
One of the eight companies failed to meet minimum submission requirements, and two others failed to meet the minimum scoring threshold, the report stated.
“Proponents who did not achieve a minimum score of 45 points before pricing, were disqualified from further evaluation,” it stated.
Osti said this was not the case for Guelph Solar, but VCT Group had scored slightly higher.
Ultimately, the committee seemed to feel comfortable with the process that had been followed, and approved the recommendation, but Cork asked that staff provide more information in future.
County councillor Matthew Bulmer asked that an addendum with more information be added to the report before it comes to council for the final approval stage.
The three buildings set to get the rooftop solar systems are rent-geared-to-income properties located at 411 Waterloo Ave., 263 Speedvale Ave. E. and 33 Marlborough Rd.
The proposed solar installations are expected to generate more than 6.5 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity over the 25-year life cycle of the systems, the report stated.
“This output will result in an approximate cost reduction of $885,325 in electricity expenses over the project’s lifespan, supporting the municipality’s ongoing efforts to reduce energy costs and enhance sustainability,” it stated.
As well, “if everything goes well, we’ll receive a clean energy tax credit” from the province, Osti said.
A portion of the project costs – $100,136 – will come from the county’s housing capital reserves.
Another $133,645 will be covered by the federal government through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, and the remaining $344,955 will be covered by the City of Guelph.
