For example, the Sandia Labs survey of PV system use in federal facilities found the largest perceived barrier for one agency, and the second largest for the remaining two, was lack of familiarity with PVs, and related to this is uncertainty with PV s performance record. 27 Technological failure is a costly mistake in any market it is particularly costly in the government procurement community. One former federal engineer even asserted that bad news travels 10 times faster than good news in the federal procurement community. Based on interviews, it appears that skepticism is even higher within many municipal governments that do not have an office devoted to renewable energy. The system within which contracting officers function creates a conservative approach to purchasing decisions, and can hinder renewables prospects.
Contracting officers have few incentives to encourage innovation.
If anything, they traditionally face many penalties for errors and for decisions that lead to failure. According to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies Working Group on Federal Acquisition Regulation Reform, contracting is one of the very few functions in the federal government in which employees may be criminally liable for errors they make on the job. 29 Contracting officers also face a mountain of regulations, administrative orders, and oversight processes that, when combined with the possibilities of severe penalties, offer little latitude for innovative decisions on particular facilities and projects. Finally, due to these unique pressures, contracting officers are frequently cut off from managers of facilities for which the purchases are intended, who are not criminally liable for poor purchases. Less attention may be paid to more complex considerations of product value, environmental impact, and the long-term costs of energy choices to be borne by the facility or project.