Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island receive strong response to Clean Energy RFP

Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island received more than 30 project proposals from bidders responding to the three-state request for proposals (RFP) for clean energy and transmission projects issued on November 12, 2015. Public versions of the bids submitted by the January 28, 2016 bid submission deadline have been posted to the Clean Energy RFP website.

Developers were invited to submit multiple bids reflecting different project configurations in three different categories:

• Any combination of qualified clean energy and renewable energy credits via a power purchase agreement
•  Any combination of qualified clean energy and renewable energy credits via a power purchase agreement with a transmission project to deliver the clean energy
• Qualified clean energy via a transmission project containing a clean energy delivery commitment (with no power purchase agreement)

For the three participating states, qualified clean energy generally includes “class I” or “new” renewable energy and large-scale hydropower. Bidders offered projects ranging from 20 MW to more than 400 MW of new solar, wind, fuel cell, hydro, and energy storage resources to be located in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and eastern Canada. Multiple project proposals included plans to access clean energy resources through new high-voltage transmission lines.

The bids will now undergo an evaluation based on their viability, bid price, and other project details. The evaluation process will take several months, with a final selection of projects expected by July 2016. Any contracts executed by the states’ electric distribution companies must be reviewed and approved by the state public utility commissions (anticipated by the end of the year).

The three-state RFP stems from the New England governors’ efforts to work together on challenges relating to energy infrastructure (read the ISO Newswire articles, New England Governors announce proposal to expand regional energy infrastructure and New England’s governors release six-state action plan to address energy infrastructure needs). The purpose of the RFP is to identify projects that will advance the clean energy goals of the three participating states. The soliciting parties in the three states are acting jointly to open up the possibility of procuring large-scale projects that no one state could procure on its own.