Thread by @jordanshoesmith

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has released the public redacted bids submitted under its 12 TWh/year Zero Carbon Energy RFP. Going to sift through them today and provide some highlights. #procurement #cleanenergy #offshorewind #nuclear #hydro #solar

1/ Background: On July 31, 2018, DEEP issued the final RFP for Zero Carbon Energy, soliciting proposals for up to 12 TWh/year of qualified zero carbon energy and associated environmental attributes. Proposals were due September 14. dpuc.state.ct.us/DEEPEnergy.nsf…

2/ Background: Eligible resources included New England nuclear power generating facilities (i.e., Millstone and Seabrook), existing and incremental hydropower, zero carbon Class I resources (i.e., solar, onshore/offshore wind), and paired & co-located energy storage.

3/ Background: Projects had to be ≥ 2 MW and only solar PV had a max capacity of 20 MW nameplate. Class I facilities and storage projects had to be new or incremental expansions of existing facilities. Nuclear/hydro had to be new, incremental expansions, or existing facilities.

4/ Background: The max authorized procurement volume is 12 TWh per year, equal to approximately 40% of Connecticut’s electric load. Contract term lengths are 3-10 years for nuclear and hydro, and up to 20 years for zero carbon Class I resources and paired/co-located storage.

5/ Bids: OSW - @VineyardWindMA, @ConstitutionOSW & @DeepwaterWind submitted bids. Vineyard's bid is for up to 800 MW. Ørsted's bid is for ~4 TWh/yr (est. 800-1,000 MW). DWW submitted bids for a 100 MW expansion of 600 MW Revolution Wind OR 700 MW from new 'Freedom Seas' project.

6/ Bids: Nuclear - Millstone & Seabrook, the only remaining operational nuclear plants in New England not planned for retirement (Pilgrim is set to retire June 2019), submitted bids w/ multiple size/term options. Est. max bid of 1500 MW for Millstone & 1,100 MW for Seabrook.

7/ Bids: Nuclear - Unlike Seabrook, Millstone applied for and is awaiting an "at-risk" determination from CT PURA and DEEP, which would give Millstone's bids consideration of indirect benefits and direct benefits for environmental attributes and capacity during evaluation.

8/ Bids: Solar - 71 bid packages for solar PV projects submitted from 17 diff. developers, incl. 33 proposals w/ optional paired/co-located storage, & most w/ multiple pricing options for a cumulative non-redacted bid capacity of ~600 MW. Actual bid capacity likely closer to 1 GW

9/ Bids: Land-based Wind - 5 bid packages for land-based wind projects submitted from 5 different developers for est. cumulative bid capacity of 997 MW, all located in Maine. Number Nine Wind Farm (EDF), Downeast Wind (Apex), and Weaver Wind (Longroad) submitted individual bids.

10/ Bids: Land-based Wind - Alder Stream Wind & Moose Wind submitted a joint bid w/ a proposed 114-mile 345 kV overhead AC Transmission line through west-central Maine called Evergreen Express. Both wind projects include paired/co-located storage options.

11/ Bids: Hydro - 12 bid packages for existing/incremental large hydro resources from 3 diff. developers (FirstLight, HQUS, & Brookfield) for cumulative bid capacity of ~1,560 MW. Notably, Hydro Quebec US bid jointly w/ 400-MW 345 kV HVDC Vermont Green Line transmission project.

12/ Summary - 93 total bid packages with over 120 unique bid options and dozens more pricing options submitted to DEEP by 28 unique developers/groups for approx. 8.6 GW of clean energy resources located across New England, New York, and Quebec.

13/ Next steps - DEEP has its hands full w/ what will be an incredibly cumbersome evaluation process. DEEP is expected to announce selected bids in Winter 2018/19, w/ contracts executed & submitted for PURA approval in Spring 2019. Final PURA approval in late Spring/early Summer.

14/ Update: 8 more solar proposals, in which all of the relevant info (incl. capacity, location, and developer) was redacted, were posted late last week by DEEP.

15/ Webinar: On Oct. 4 (from 12-1:30pm ET), SEA will be breaking down thousands of pages of bids to provide you w/ all the key details and assess the playing field, discuss tensions in evaluating such diff. proposals, and implications for regional markets. eventbrite.com/e/assessing-th…