A San Francisco-based developer of solar and wind power is the latest company to join to the U.S. Army's multi-billion-dollar alternative energy program.
Closely held Foresight Renewable Solutions LLC was awarded a contract "for use in completing and awarding power purchase agreement task orders" under a $7 billion Army program to buy renewable power from privately developed facilities, according to the Jan. 29 announcement.
The service last year announced several deals under the program, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville, Ala., as part of a larger Pentagon effort to derive 3 gigawatts of power — enough to power about 750,000 homes — from alternative sources such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal by 2025.
The Army's so-called multiple-award contract includes a three-year base period and seven one-year options. Under these kinds of arrangements, companies win seats on the contract, then compete against each other for individual orders.
The award topped a list of 187 contracts with a combined value of more than $15.6 billion in January, according to a Military.com analysis of the Pentagon’s daily contract announcements. However, excluding the previously announced Army deal, the value of the contracts totaled just $8.6 billion for the month -- a 60 percent decrease from the average of the previous three months.
The contracting slide is in line with a broader, albeit more gradual, drop in defense spending, according to the Treasury Department.
From October through December, the Pentagon's outlays in research and development and procurement totaled $43.3 billion -- a 6 percent decrease from the same period a year earlier, according to a monthly statement prepared by Treasury's Financial Management Service.
Wright & Wright Machinery Co., based in Monticello, Ky., beat out 17 other companies to win the Pentagon's second-largest contract for the month, a potential $776 million deal with the Defense Logistics Agency for commercial construction equipment, according to the Jan. 28 announcement.
Bechtel Corp., the largest construction and engineering company in the U.S., took the third-largest defense contract in January, a nearly $600 million award with the Navy for nuclear propulsion components, according to the Jan. 14 announcement. The deal follows a $7 billion, multi-year deal in November to design nuclear propulsion systems for submarines and surface ships.
General Electric Co., one of the largest companies in the world, landed the fourth-largest military contract last month, a $573 million deal with the Navy to repair or replace components on 17 F414 engines on F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler aircraft, according to the Jan. 2 announcement.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., part of Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp., received the fifth-largest Pentagon contract in January, a $550 million agreement with the Army for 18 MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters and 19 MH-60R Seahawk choppers and associated services on behalf of the Navy, according to the Jan. 9 announcement.
