Solar Panel Sale •

undergoing a significant transformation, with the guidance of the Governor, Legislature, the Board of Trustees, and the State’s Select Committee on the Future of Public Higher Education in Vermont. The VSCS began working on internal transformation in summer 2020 with the VSCS Forward Task Force and several institutional tasks forces including NVU Strong and VTC’s Transformation Advisory Team. The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) is comprised of two member institutions – Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Vermont State University (VTSU). The system educates over ten thousand Vermonters and non-Vermonters each year, employs over three thousand Vermonters, and in Spring 2020, graduated over eighteen hundred Vermonters and out-of-state students into the workforce with certificates and degrees.1 SCOPE OF SERVICES The Vermont State Colleges System seeks interested parties to submit competitive bids to purchase solar panels and inverters. Specific equipment information can be found

after the Submission Requirements section of this RFP. (Remainder of this page intentionally blank) 1VSCS Sourcebooks as well as Board & Committee Meeting Materials and Minutes are available on the System’s website. http://www.vsc.edu/ http://www.ccv.edu/ https://www.vsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Sourcebook-2019-Final-copy-updated-11-2020.pdf https://www.vsc.edu/board-of-trustees/meeting-materials/ 4 EVALUATION The equipment will be awarded to the highest cash bidder, and must include the plan for removal of the equipment from VTSU’s site in Randolph Center, Vermont. If the bidder is eligible for the transaction to be exempt from Vermont sales and use tax, the bidder must also provide a good faith exemption certification from the Vermont Department of Taxes. If the bidder does not provide a completed certification, the bidder must also expect to pay the sales and use tax if awarded the bid. The VSCS is liable to collect the tax unless the successful bidder is entitled to the exemption. For further information, bidders should visit https://tax.vermont.gov/business/sales-and-use-tax/exemptions#certificates Method of Award The solar panels will be awarded to the highest bidder. The high bidders will be contacted by 5:00pm on April 1, 2024. The high bidder will have two weeks to provide full payment with a completed W-9 and to remove the awarded item from Vermont State University property. If that deadline is missed, the award will be considered null and void and the next highest bidder will be contacted and awarded the item, with two weeks to provide payment and remove the equipment.The VSCS, in its best interests, reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to accept or reject any item or combination of items therein, to waive any irregularities or informalities in any proposal or items therein, and/or to negotiate with particular bidders following the evaluation of proposals without right of recourse by other bidders. A top proposal would be assessed in the judgment of VSCS as best complying with all considerations set forth in this RFP. When VSCS has tentatively selected a successful proposal, VSC may engage in discussions with the bidder to formulate plans in greater detail, to clarify unclear items for either party, and to otherwise complete negotiations prior to formal selection. GENERAL CONDITIONS 1. This RFP does not commit the Vermont State Colleges System to award a contract. 2. This RFP and the process it describes are proprietary to the VSCS and are for the sole and exclusive benefit of the corporation. No other party, including any Applicant, is granted any rights hereunder. Any response, including written documents and verbal communication, by any Applicant to this RFP, shall become the property of the VSCS and may be subject to public disclosure as described in the Confidentiality section, below. 3. Submission of a bid indicates acceptance by the party of the conditions contained in this RFP, unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted and confirmed in the contract between Vermont State Colleges System and the chosen party selected. 4. Responses shall be binding upon the chosen party and irrevocable for up to 60 days following the close of applications. 5. From the release date of this request for proposal until award of the contract, no contact with Vermont State Colleges System personnel or board members related to this solicitation is permitted. Direct all communications to the designated contact on the first page of this request. https://tax.vermont.gov/business/sales-and-use-tax/exemptions#certificates 5 6. The Vermont State Colleges System reserves the right to: a. Request clarification and additional information from any party during the evaluation process. b. Re-advertise with either an identical or a revised scope of work or cancel requirements in their entirety. c. Issue subsequent RF