Specifications include, but are not limited to: The State of Maine is seeking proposals for Planning and Technical Assistance to assist the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Governor’s Energy Office with the identification of areas where substantial electrical capacity for new economic activity exists and the development of partnerships and action plans to realize that economic potential. Sub-Task 1: Planning and Technical Assistance Program Manager will identify up to 20 communities that have a high likelihood of having underutilized energy infrastructure available for economic development. The successful bidder will do so using utility hosting capacity maps, publicly available information such as sites identified by Maine Rural Development Authority[footnoteRef:3] and Maine DECD[footnoteRef:4], and other sources the successful bidder will identify. [3: https://www.mainerda.org/available-sites/] [4: https://www.maine.gov/decd/business-development/select-maine-sites] Sub-Task 2: Planning and Technical Assistance Program Manager will hold individual meetings with relevant individuals and organizations from these communities, in coordination with DECD and GEO, to determine interest in proceeding with technical assistance and to gain more detailed information about the potential underutilized energy infrastructure. The successful bidder will propose 5-8 communities to focus on, using a prioritization framework the successful bidder will develop in consultation with the GEO, and which will include, among others, expected benefits, equity considerations, and whether the community participates in the Community Resilience Partnership. The Planning and Technical Assistance Program Manager will hold 1 public forum in each of the potential 5-8 communities to ensure support for the technical assistance, and to hear any ideas, concerns, or priorities. After the forum, The DECD and the GEO will confirm which of those 5-8 communities are selected to proceed. Sub-Task 3: Identify and engage with potential partners for economic development of the asset and facilitate the execution of at least one Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or detailed Partnership Concept Agreement between interested business and community partners in each community to support expanded economic activity of underutilized energy infrastructure. Prior to finalizing the MOU, the successful bidder will hold 1 public forum in each of the selected 5-8 communities to solicit feedback on the proposed partnerships, including which, if any, partnerships to keep developing with further technical assistance in Task 2. All partnerships should advance the State of Maine’s energy goals, including greenhouse gas emissions reductions, clean workforce development, and equity.
