Have an EPC RFP going out, or one already on your desk?
Initial scoping calls are complimentary. Mid-process engagements (bid evaluation, contract negotiation, NTP readiness) accepted on a defined-scope, fixed-fee basis.
EPC selection is treated as a price exercise more often than not. Three bids come in, the cheapest wins, and the change orders, schedule slips, and LD carve-outs fill the gap between headline price and total cost. We run EPC selection as a contract problem. The bid that lands on your desk has been normalized against a defined scope, scored on technical and commercial merit, and tied to a contract that your lender and tax equity counsel will fund against.
Price is the headline. Cost is the project.
The cheapest bid is usually the one with the most carve-outs, the weakest LDs, and the widest change-order opening. We score on total cost of ownership, not the cover sheet.
Familiarity is not competition.
Going back to the EPC who built your last project feels efficient. It also tells them they have no competitive pressure, and the contract you sign will reflect that.
Bundles hide where the margin lives.
When the module supplier or sponsor brings a packaged EPC with a single price, the EPC's loyalty is to the party that brought them in. Not to the owner funding the project.
Three bids on three different scopes is not a comparison.
If bidders priced different assumptions, you have noise, not data. We lock the scope before the RFP goes out and normalize every clarification before evaluation.
Bonding capacity, audited financials, project track record at comparable scale, references called and verified, conflict-of-interest screen against your sponsor and lender. The long list gets cut to a short list before the RFP goes out.
What gets self-performed by the EPC, what gets subcontracted, what's owner-furnished, and where the interfaces sit. Margin leaks happen at scope boundaries. We define the boundaries before we ask anyone for a price.
Technical specifications, commercial terms framework, mandatory bid format, clarification protocol, alternates discipline. Every bidder answers the same questions in the same format. No exceptions, no off-line conversations.
Apples-to-apples comparison across price, schedule, scope deviations, qualifications, alternates, and security packages. We back out every "subject to" and every "not included" until the bids are scored on the same basis.
Delay LDs, performance LDs, payment milestones, retainage, security package (LCs and parent guarantees), warranty terms, force majeure, change-order discipline, dispute resolution. The contract is what the lender funds against. The price is what the bidder writes on the cover.
Performance ratio guarantee, capacity test methodology, energy guarantee period, LD caps, warranty bond structure, true-up mechanics. This is the heart of EPC bankability. Get it wrong and your tax equity ends up underwriting EPC underperformance.
Conditions precedent satisfaction, lender CP closure, owner's engineer onboarding, kickoff meeting framework, baseline schedule lock, mobilization checklist. Notice to proceed is the moment the EPC's clock starts. Everything before it has to be in writing.
Delay LDs and performance LDs with realistic caps. Caps that are too low let the EPC walk away from underperformance.
Letters of credit, parent guarantees, retainage. The package has to survive the EPC's worst quarter, not just their best year.
PR guarantee, capacity test methodology, energy guarantee period. Defines what the EPC actually delivered, in measurable terms.
Defined process, time-barred notice, owner sign-off thresholds. Without discipline, the contract price is a starting bid.
A complete EPC selection file: pre-qualification through notice to proceed, with every decision documented and every artifact ready for tax equity diligence, lender's IE review, and IRS substantiation for the safe harbor and ITC adders.
Initial scoping calls are complimentary. Mid-process engagements (bid evaluation, contract negotiation, NTP readiness) accepted on a defined-scope, fixed-fee basis.