On December 19, Georgia Power Company issued its draft Request for Proposals (RFP) to fulfill both the last 70 MW of its Advanced Solar Initiative (ASI) and the requirement imposed this year by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) that Georgia Power Company purchase an additional 425 MW of solar energy. The Draft RFP, together with a proposed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and other relevant documents, is available on the web site established for the program. Persons interested in the program must register on the new web site (registration on the existing ASI web site will not carry over) to obtain access to the Draft RFP and other documents.
In 2012, Georgia Power announced its Advanced Solar Initiative, approved by the PSC, for the purchase of 70 MW of solar energy from new projects in Georgia each year for three years beginning in 2013. The 2013 process has been completed, and the 2014 process will commence soon.
At the conclusion of Georgia Power Company’s Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) process this year, the PSC ordered Georgia Power to expand its solar energy capacity by 425 MW in addition to the ASI. The December 19th announcement involves the last 70 MW of the ASI (the ASI portion of the RFP) to be obtained from facilities of between 1 MW and 20 MW capacity to be built in Georgia with a required commercial operation date (RCOD) no later than January 1, 2016. For the ASI portion of the RFP, Georgia Power has announced that the 20 year levelized price must not exceed $120/MWh.
Georgia Power intends to fulfill the PSC’s requirement for the purchase of an additional 425 MW through its ASI-Prime 2015 and ASI-Prime 2016. ASI-Prime 2015 will involve the purchase of 210 MW of solar energy from projects built in Georgia with an RCOD no later than December 21, 2015. ASI-Prime 2016 will involve the remaining 215 MW of solar energy from projects built in Georgia with an RCOD no later than December 21, 2015. The ASI-Prime program is not proposed to have a bid cap, but bid prices will be compared to an avoided cost number that will be filed with and approved by the PSC.
Below is the proposed schedule for the RFP:
| ACTIVITY | DATE DUE |
| Draft RFP Documents Issued via Web site | December 19, 2013 |
| Comment Period Opens Regarding Draft RFP Documents | December 19, 2013 |
| RFP Bidders Conference | January 13, 2014 |
| Final Comments Regarding RFP Documents Due to Company | January 31, 2014 |
| Revised RFP and PPAs Shared via Web site | February 7, 2014 |
| Final RFP and PPA Documents Filed | February 7, 2014 |
| RFP Released via Web site | February 24, 2014 |
| Self-Build Proposals due to IE | March 21, 2014 |
| Bids and Bidders’ Fee Due(Bids must be electronically submitted by 5:00 PM EPT.) | March 24, 2014 |
| Evaluations reviewed with Staff and IE Completed | July 8, 2014 |
| Short List, Reserve List and Release List Determination | July 11, 2014 |
| Negotiate and Finalize PPAs | By August 27, 2014 |
| Release of Reserve List Bidders | September 4, 2014 |
| File Executed PPAs with the GPSC* | September 4, 2014 |
| Required Commercial Operation Date for Resource(s) for ASI and 2015 ASI-Prime | December 31, 2015 |
| Required Commercial Operation Date for Resource(s) for 2016 ASI-Prime | December 31, 2016 |
The continuation of ASI, and the initiation and implementation of ASI-Prime, will generate significant activity for the development of utility-scale solar projects in Georgia during the next three years. For more information or for assistance with the program, contact Steve O’Day.