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					</table>U.S.-based Appalachian Power (<a href="https://www.appalachianpower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">APCo</a>) has issued three requests for proposals (RfP) to procure power and renewable energy certificates (RECs) from wind and solar power projects, along with co-located and standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The last day to submit the bids for all the RfP is July 16, 2024.
RfP 1
APCo seeks to acquire wind and solar projects and or co-located standalone BESS up to 800 MW through one or more purchase and sale agreements.
The minimum acceptable project size is:
<ul>
<li>PJM Resources: 50 MW minimum for wind, solar, and solar with co-located battery energy storage systems, and 10 MW minimum for standalone BESS.</li>
<li>APCo Distribution Resources: 10 MW minimum for solar, solar with co-located battery energy storage systems, and standalone BESS.</li>
</ul>
APCo is looking for projects in the development stage and completed projects that are expected to be operational by December 15, 2028.
The projects must qualify for the full Federal Production Tax Credit or Federal Investment Tax Credit.
To qualify for consideration, projects must interconnect to the PJM Interconnection, Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) or the APCo distribution system, and be located within the PJM footprint, with a preference for projects located in Virginia or West Virginia on eligible sites.
Projects must be connected to PJM and have a completed PJM System Impact Study.
PJM Interconnection is a RTO that coordinates the movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
RfP 2
APCo intends to procure power and environmental attributes (including RECs) from wind and solar projects of up to 300 MW through one or more power purchase agreements (PPA).
The minimum project size for this RfP is 5 MW for solar projects and 50 MW for wind projects.
APCo seeks renewable energy products from a low-cost project delivering energy into PJM Interconnection or the APCo system via a PPA, including energy, capacity, environmental attributes (including RECs), and ancillary services (if available).
Projects should be operational by December 31, 2028.
The PPA term must be 20 or 30 years, with bidders allowed to offer alternative term proposals.
Proposals may include an option for APCo to purchase the project at fair market value at the end of the PPA term.
Projects must be located within the PJM Interconnection.
RfP 3
APCo has invited proposals for unbundled RECs from renewable resources.
RECs must meet the Virginia Renewable Portfolio Standard, evidenced by a verified certificate number in PJM’s Generation Attribute Tracking System (PJM-GATS).
Proposals must be for at least five years, but no more than thirty years, starting January 1, 2027, with bidders allowed to offer alternative proposals.
Eligible renewable resources include:
<ul>
<li>Solar or wind located within the PJM region.</li>
<li>Non-utility-owned falling water resources less than 65 MW, operational after December 31, 1979, or with incremental generation over 50% of the original capacity after December 31, 1979, located in the Commonwealth or within the PJM region.</li>
<li>Waste-to-energy or landfill gas-fired resources in the Commonwealth, operational by January 1, 2020, not using waste heat from fossil fuel combustion or forest/woody biomass.</li>
<li>Biomass-fired facilities in the Commonwealth, operational by January 1, 2020, supply no more than 10% of their annual net generation to the grid or 15% of their total useful energy to entities other than the interconnected manufacturing facility.</li>
</ul>
RECs must be produced from a unit-contingent resource and delivered to APCo by the 15th day following the month they are generated. REC deliveries must occur through the PJM-GATS system into an APCo-designated account.
In 2022, American Electric Power Service Corporation, on behalf of Appalachian Power, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/tender-issued-to-procure-power-in-west-virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> an RfP to procure power from 150 MW of solar projects with optional BESS in West Virginia.
In the same year, Entergy Arkansas, an energy utility in the U.S., <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/entergy-arkansas-tender-1-gw-renewable-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> an RfP to procure 1 GW of solar and wind energy.

Appalachian Power Issues Tenders to Procure 1.1 GW of Renewable Energy

<a href="https://www.canadiansolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canadian Solar</a>, a vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, and PV cells and modules, announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, <a href="https://recurrentenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recurrent Energy</a>, has completed a purchase and sale agreement with Appalachian Power for Recurrent’s Firefly Energy solar project located in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
With a capacity of 150 MW, the project will be Appalachian Power’s largest solar energy acquisition to date. It will help the utility meet its clean energy requirements under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
The Firefly Energy solar project will be developed and constructed by Recurrent under a Build Transfer Agreement (BTA). Pending local and state permits and other regulatory approvals, the project’s construction is expected to start in early 2023 and reach commercial operation in 2024. Once construction is completed, Appalachian Power, which serves customers in Virginia, West Virginia,  and Tennessee, will be the long-term owner of the project.
Recurrent received approval on its Siting Agreement for the project earlier in December 2021 from the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. The agreement provides $2.25 million in upfront payments to Pittsylvania County in addition to long-term revenue for public services over the life of the project.
“The Firefly project in Virginia expands our growing footprint across the eastern U.S., delivering turnkey projects for utilities and other investors,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman, and CEO of Canadian Solar. “We are pleased to have been selected through a competitive process and to be a part of Appalachian Power’s major solar energy expansion. We look forward to advancing this project through development and construction and delivering a renewable solar energy project to Appalachian Power that will help them serve their Virginia customers,” he added.
According to Mercom’s recently published annual and Q4 solar funding and m&amp;a <a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/product/annual-q4-2021-solar-funding-ma-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, over 68 GW of large-scale solar projects were acquired in 2021.

Recurrent Energy Sells 150 MW Virginia Solar Project to Appalachian Power

<a href="https://www.appalachianpower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Appalachian Power</a>, an electric utility in the United States, has invited bids to develop 300 MW of solar and wind projects. The request for bids is the first in a series of requests for proposal (RfP) that the company has planned for this year to comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
Under the VCEA, the company must meet the annual targets to achieve a 100% carbon-free economy in its Virginia territory by 2050.
Depending on the results of the RfP, the company may pursue additional resources beyond 300 MW. The minimum bid capacity for this RfP has been fixed as 50 MW.
The last date to submit the bids is March 31, 2021, and bidders will be shortlisted on April 30. The projects should be operational by mid-December 2023, although proposals with an operational date of no later than December 15, 2024, will also be considered.
Appalachian Power is seeking wind projects that will qualify for the federal tax credit and solar projects that will qualify for the federal investment tax credit. The solar projects must be interconnected to the power pool and located in Virginia.
For project development, the bidder must have established site control of the proposed project, and it should be in the form of direct ownership, land lease, or easement. The solar panels and inverters must be manufactured by approved vendors. The wind project turbines should be manufactured by GE, Vestas, and Siemens-Gamesa.
Chris Beam, President, and Chief Operating Officer, Appalachian Power, said, “This is Appalachian Power’s largest request yet in a single year for renewable energy bids. We look forward to reviewing the proposals and issuing more requests for bids later this year as we expand our portfolio and reliance on clean energy.”
The bidders can include a battery energy storage system, which should not be more than 20% of the project capacity. The bidder is responsible for all costs associated with transmission interconnections and system upgrades as required by the interconnecting utility.
Appalachian Power, a part of <a href="https://www.aep.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Electric Power</a>, is a renewable energy company, producing approximately 1,900 Gigawatt hours of energy annually from wind and hydropower.
In August 2020, AEP <a href="https://www.aep.com/news/releases/read/5718/AEP-Renewables-Purchases-Invenergy-Share-Of-Desert-Sky-And-Trent-Mesahttps:/www.aep.com/news/releases/read/5718/AEP-Renewables-Purchases-Invenergy-Share-Of-Desert-Sky-And-Trent-Mesa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that its renewable energy subsidiary AEP Renewables completed the purchase of Invenergy’s 20.1% interest in the Dessert Sky and Trent Mesa wind projects in Texas. AEP Renewables owns 1.36 GW of large-scale solar, wind, and energy storage projects across the United States.
AEP Energy Partners, another AEP subsidiary, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aep-energy-partners-signs-letter-of-intent-to-purchase-50-mw-output-from-columbus-solar-park-301159408.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a letter of intent with BQ Energy Development to purchase 100% offtake of the Columbus Solar Park in Columbus, Ohio. The solar project is scheduled to be operational by December 2022, and once completed, will have the capacity to power 5,000 homes.

US Electric Utility Invites Bids for 300 MW of Solar and Wind Projects

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