American Electric Power’s (AEP) Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) on April 28 said that it has submitted an informational filing to the Louisiana Public Service Commission, including three draft request for proposals (RFPs) for renewable and economic generating capacity to supply customers’ needs.
The company said that the RFPs solicit bids for the purchase of wind resources of up to 3,000 MW, as well as solar resources up to 300 MW and short-term accredited deliverable capacity up to 250 MW.
SWEPCO noted that wind resources must be a minimum of 100 MW, interconnect to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and be located in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, or Missouri. Solar resources must be a minimum of 50 MW, interconnect to SPP, and be located in the SWEPCO service territory, the company said, adding that proposals for short-term capacity must be for a minimum of 50 MW from SPP resources.
Proposals are due by Aug. 12, SWEPCO said, noting that proposals selected from the three RFPs are subject to appropriate regulatory approvals.
According to the draft RFP for up to 3,000 MW of wind energy resources, for instance, SWEPCO is seeking wind projects that will qualify for the Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC). The company is pursuing projects that can achieve the commercial operation deadline of Dec. 15, 2024, or alternatively, Dec. 15, 2025, the RFP said.
According to the draft RFP for up to 300 MW of solar energy resources, SWEPCO is seeking only projects on a turnkey basis in which it will acquire all of the equity interests in the project company whose assets are comprised solely of the project. A proposal for a solar energy resource (base proposal) is required by bidders to participate in the RFP, the document noted, adding that bidders may include an alternate proposal for a solar energy resource with a battery energy storage system (BESS option); standalone BESS proposals will not be accepted in the RFP.
According to the draft RFP for SPP accredited deliverable capacity, the RFP seeks up to 200 MW of SPP accredited deliverable capacity for the years 2023 and 2024, and seeks up to 250 MW of SPP accredited deliverable capacity for the years 2025, 2026, and 2027.
More information on the RFPs can be found on the company’s website.
