New England states Connecticut and Rhode Island have both thrown out feelers for upcoming solicitations for offshore wind and other cleaner energy sources.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Feb. 5 plans to solicit up to 400 MW of offshore and onshore wind, hydroelectric power and solar energy sources to help achieve a 1,000 MW by 2020 clean energy goal she declared in March 2017.
"Since announcing our goal to make our energy system 10 times cleaner, we've more than doubled the amount of renewable energy in the state, from roughly 100 megawatts to 230," Raimondo said in a statement. Of that existing 230 MW total, 104 MW is onshore wind, 50 MW is solar, 35 MW is landfill gas or anaerobic digestion, 30 MW is offshore wind and 11 MW is hydroelectric power.
Raimondo said the 400-MW request for proposals, or RFP, will be issued by this summer and will be designed by Rhode Island's investor-owned utility National Grid USA, known legally in the state as Narragansett Electric Co., in collaboration with the state Office of Energy Resources. The specific details of solicitation will be released at a later date.
In neighboring Connecticut, the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, or DEEP, announced Jan. 31 that it will be soliciting for large-scale "Class I" offshore wind, fuel cell and anaerobic digestion sources. All three eligible sources can be paired or collated with energy storage. The RFP prohibits the aggregation of Class I resources smaller than 1 MW.
The Connecticut RFP is open to offshore wind projects in New England or adjacent areas, including federal waters, that have a nameplate capacity of at least 2 MW and generate a maximum of 825,000 MWh of electricity a year.
Fuel cells must be between 2 MW and 20 MW in size and, if paired with combined heat and power, must have a combined electric and heating efficiency of 60%. Fuel cells paired with combined heat and power sources must qualify as a Class III energy source in addition to a Class I renewable source. The RFP also seeks anaerobic digestion sources between 1 MW and 5 MW in size.
The overall solicitation is capped at a maximum annual generation of 899,250 MWh. Under state law, the DEEP can solicit for up to 4% of the load of the state's investor-owned electric utilities, United Illuminating Co. and Eversource Energy, with no more than 3% of the load supplied by offshore wind.
The Connecticut RFP's evaluation team will consist of the DEEP, the state procurement manager, the state Office of Consumer Counsel, the state Office of the Attorney General, DEEP-appointed independent consultants and Eversource and United Illuminating.
Notice of intent to bid for the Connecticut RFP and written questions are due by Feb. 28. Proposal submissions are due by April 2. Winning bids will be selected in June and forwarded to the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for approval in the autumn.
National Grid plc is the parent company of National Grid USA, and Avangrid Inc. is the parent company of the United Illuminating.
