City nears selection for multi‑site rooftop solar portfolio; staff target April council approval

Rohan, presenting the solar for city facilities initiative, told the Joint Sustainability Commission that the city is close to selecting a vendor or vendor team to deliver a multi‑site rooftop solar portfolio covering about 110 city sites.

“We are very close to have a winning proposal,” Rohan said, describing an open RFP that received 16 Phase‑1 qualifications, advanced eight firms, and led to a best‑and‑final evaluation in March. Staff said they designed the procurement to optimize for scale, cost effectiveness and community benefits and left ownership models open (city ownership or third‑party ownership under Austin Energy’s standard offer).

Rohan said the project is tied to the comprehensive climate implementation plan and that the scope called for roughly 8 megawatts of rooftop solar at a planning cost of about $22,000,000. Staff emphasized the importance of starting construction in time to preserve the solar investment tax credit and said they are targeting an April council authorization (likely April 23) and construction start by 2026‑07‑04 to safe‑harbor the portfolio for tax‑credit purposes.

City staff said evaluation panels included representatives from Austin Energy, Austin Climate Action & Resilience, Facilities Management and site owners (Aviation, Library, Parks & Recreation) to ensure interdepartmental input. Rohan declined to release specific proposal evaluations while procurement remains active.

Commissioners asked to be notified when a vendor is selected and requested a deeper post‑award briefing (staff agreed to return in May to discuss lessons learned and procurement choices once the process is public).