On May 31, the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (“CVEC”), the City of Danville, and the City of Martinsville issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for solar, solar + storage, and stand-alone storage resources. CVEC is requesting 10 MW (AC) of solar and 2-3 MW of storage, while Danville is seeking 2-3 MW of storage. Martinsville is interested in 5 MW of stand‐alone solar and 5 MW of solar and 2‐3 MW of storage. Proposals are due by July 1, 2019.
CVEC, Danville, and Martinsville are requesting PPA proposals for 20-25 years for solar resources and 15 years for battery storage. The RFP states that the “primary function of these projects will be to reduce transmission demand … and to reduce capacity demand.” Moreover, “[t]he solar generation is expected to reduce CVEC’s and Martinsville’s load requirements.” The RFP states that “[a]lthough the Participants are not contemplating ownership at this time, they are interested in exploring a buy‐out option.”
The RFP document is available online here.
Virginia’s municipal and cooperative electric utilities are not subject to the 2018 Grid Transformation and Security Act (“GTSA”). The GTSA provides incentives for Virginia’s two largest investor-owned electric utilities, Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) and Appalachian Power Company (“Appalachian”), to invest in renewable energy projects. The GTSA also requires each utility to implement a battery storage pilot program. Neither Dominion nor Appalachian, however, has issued an RFP for solar + storage or stand-alone storage to date.
The May 31 RFP issued by CVEC, Danville, and Martinsville indicates the increasing cost-competitiveness of solar and battery storage. Based on the declining cost of solar + storage, we expect to see more Virginia utilities issuing RFPs for these resources in the near future.
Please contact one of our energy regulatory attorneys, Will Reisinger or Matt Gooch, should you have any questions about the Virginia energy market. Keep up to date with other renewable energy and Virginia regulatory matters at ReisingerGooch.com.