On December 19, Georgia Power Company issued its draft Solar 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 Solar Request for Proposals 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 Georgia Power Company 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 March 24, 2014
(Bids must be electronically submitted by 5:00 PM EPT.)
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.