As part of a joint procurement with the U.S. Navy, the Department of Energy last week solicited bids for a potentially 10-year contract to manage the Naval Nuclear Laboratory.
Incumbent Bechtel Marine Power Corp. has been on the job since 2009. The current and follow-on contract includes management and operation of DoE’s Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory near Pittsburgh, Pa.; the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory near Albany, N.Y.; and the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
In a Jan. 2 solicitation, DoE and the Navy said the follow-on contract includes a five-year base period and one five-year option. Transition work under the new contract would begin July 1, the agencies wrote in the solicitation. The current contract expires Sept. 30.
The current contract averaged a little under $1 billion a year in costs over its eight-year span, with fees ranging from $6 million to nearly $8 million annually.
The winner will be responsible for design, development, and testing of nuclear reactor plants for naval submarines and surface ships. Bids are due March 5.