Davis Monthan Air Force Base, in collaboration with the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance, is moving to enact critical national defense and domestic objectives to enhance security of the global mission and lethality for the warfighter. President Trump’s Executive Orders (14179, 14156, 14154) have unleashed opportunities for our Air Force installations to cost-effectively partner with the rapidly growing AI data center industry to site large-scale commercial data centers and associated infrastructure and, further, to catalyze onsite generation that supports energy reliability and critical mission capability. This groundbreaking initiative is on the leading edge of the United States’ objectives to prioritize and harden mission capability in an increasingly crucial theater of global competition. To learn more and inform the Air Force’s approach to meet this critical objective, see the RFI link below for details and submit your proposal by April 24, 2025.

Data Center Campus and Co-located Generation Assessment Request for Information
https://sam.gov/opp/5215c59dc17b44feb3fc309bfc7fb83f/view

OPEN DATE: March 24, 2025
CLOSE DATE: April 24, 2025

Across the Department of Defense (DoD), military installations and facilities are being asked to deploy resilient and reliable energy systems more quickly and cost-effectively. Meeting these goals will require streamlined business processes and substantial third party capital investment. Partnering with commercial industry in new ways is imperative to leveraging best in class business processes as well as private industry dollars to help address resilience gaps at speed and scale.

Issues facing the the DoD include: 

• Resilience Gaps: The DoD is facing a challenging landscape characterized by increasing demand for energy, gaps in installation resilience, new policy requirements, and threats from the environment as well as external malign actors.
• Protracted Time to Completion: DoD project time to completion compares unfavorably with best-in-class industry processes. Industry innovation can accelerate DoD project completion timelines.
• Antiquated Terms of Collaboration: DoD seeks to harness industry creativity and innovation. The Finance First initiative is focused on identifying new and different terms that can be leveraged with companies and financing entities to boost the speed and reduce the costs of a deployed solution.

Finance First is a process improvement initiative. Today, designing, constructing, and deploying resilient energy solutions, whether power generation, distribution, and/or storage, takes 5 to 10 years, versus best-in-class commercial projects that take only 2 to 3 years. Coinciding with that, most energy projects require too much up-front capital investment. Finance First is seeking industry solutions that will deliver completed projects in a timeline consistent with best-in-class commercial practices (2-3 years), and which will deliver electrons at an acceptable $/kwH with little or no up-front capital investment.

For more information on this opportunity, please see the full Area of Interest solicitation that has been published and can be found by visiting Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) open solicitations webpage.  

Please contact Michael Kahmann, Energy Portfolio Program Manager at DIU, via email mkahmann.ctr@diu.mil with any questions.

OPEN DATE: Wednesday, December 4, 2024
CLOSE DATE: Friday, January 9, 2025 at 23:59 U.S./ET

Please note, the Tradewinds Geothermal Submission deadline has been revised to Jan. 3, 2025 @ 1300 PST.  We have also posted clarifications and answers to questions. Notably, the Tradewinds Geothermal solicitation allows a vendor whose video submission has been deemed “awardable” to pursue geothermal projects anywhere in the world with the Air Force, Army, and Navy at any time in the future without having to engage in any further competition. The opportunity is not limited to Travis Air Force Base. A vendor must pursue geothermal energy projects to produce electricity for consumption or for electrolysis to produce hydrogen, among other use cases.

DAF is seeking novel approaches to generate electricity at its installations using geothermal energy, because it can provide, continuous, resilient, carbon-free electricity regardless of weather conditions to maintain mission continuity and comply with congressional mandates to maintain energy resilience for all critical missions at each installation. 

This Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is a competitive solicitation seeking proposals for innovative, commercial technologies that accelerate attainment of defense capabilities. This CSO will result in the award of a prototype agreement with a possibility of a follow-on production contract. 

60th Contracting Office (CONS) will utilize Other Transaction Agreements (OTA or Agreements) under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 4022 to partner with nontraditional and traditional defense contractors and non-profit research institutions to carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the DoD, or the improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces.

Learn more at SAM.gov: https://sam.gov/opp/b1da9563963d4db4ae57d5a6c23f6a15/view

OPEN DATE: Monday, September 23, 2024
CLOSE DATE: Friday, January 3, 2025 (formerly Thursday, November 14, 2024)

Air Force Energy Assurance Office in support of the DAF, is exploring the feasibility of a competitive solicitation to prototype the assessment of geologic hydrogen resource availability, extractability, and economic viability on Air Force installations within the continental United States (CONUS) and outside the continental United States (OCONUS).

Learn more at SAM.gov: https://sam.gov/opp/0c80f9a49cf846049f2b6cadb2096b08/view

OPEN DATE: Monday, September 23, 2024
CLOSE DATE: Monday, November 4, 2024

Air Force Energy Assurance Office Request for Information to support market research for DECo, which is looking into creating a program utilizing a Consortium Management Organization (CMO), a legal entity with an established consortium whose members will be compromised of small businesses, traditional and non-traditional defense contractors, utilities, financiers, and others dedicated to addressing DAF’s energy resilience requirements through on ongoing public-private partnership. Please see the open RFI on SAM.gov for more information.

Key Dates:

• Publish date: August 5, 2024
• Close date: September 5, 2024

The Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (AFOEA) is proud to announce the solicitation for the Department of the Air Force’s Flex-Fuel power generation technology solutions aimed at enhancing installation energy resilience. This initiative allows individuals and organizations to collaborate with us and contribute to revolutionizing power generation technology at Travis Air Force Base.

The Flex-Fuel Generator Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) on SAM.gov provides a platform for proposing cutting-edge power generation technologies.

Participants can showcase their solutions by submitting a 5-minute video presentation to the Department of Defense's (DoD) Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace.

Submission to the CSO holds the potential to secure a prototype agreement and even a production contract, offering a unique opportunity for collaboration and growth.

Key Dates:

• Publish date: February 6, 2024
• Close date: March 5, 2024