On March 11, 2024, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) issued a notice of request for proposals for energy storage projects pursuant to Public Act 21-53. DEEP is seeking to procure standalone energy storage projects and energy storage projects that will be paired with Class I renewable energy sources or hydropower facilities to assist Connecticut in obtaining its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.
DEEP has issued the 119-page RFP, which contains the instructions and forms for response to the RFP as well as a form of Storage Performance Contract. As with other DEEP-led RFPs, bidders will be graded, on price, value of service provided, how few modifications that make to the form of the Storage Performance Contract, and other objectives DEEP wishes to incentivize. Once DEEP makes its selection, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) will open a docket and consider whether to approve the selected projects. Under existing law, DEEP is allowed to procure up to 300 megawatts of nameplate capacity of energy storage by December 31, 2024, 650 megawatts by December 31, 2027, and 1,000 megawatts by December 31, 2030.
DEEP has stated that the goal of the RFP process is to meet three policy objectives:
- Displacing fossil fuel generation while promoting electrical reliability;
- Interconnecting new large electrical loads such as electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities; and
- Supporting the integration of new intermittent renewable generation such as solar or onshore wind projects.
DEEP has stated that it will favor projects that will meet these policy objectives. Bidders do not have long, however, to develop projects that will meet such objectives. The RFP has a fairly tight time frame for bid submission with the following deadlines:
- A bidder conference will be held on March 22, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.;
- Any questions regarding the RFP must be sent to DEEP no later than March 29, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.;
- DEEP will post responses to any questions by April 8, 2024;
- In order to place a bid, interested bidders must submit a request for submission instructions to DEEP by April 8, 2024 at 5 p.m.; and
- Bids must be submitted by April 18, 2024 at 12:00 p.m.
An information sheet containing all of the deadlines and basic information about the RFP may be found here. In addition, the 119-page RFP, including the form of storage performance contract, can be found here. Finally, a certification, price and performance data form, contained in an Excel spreadsheet may be opened here. All three of these documents should be reviewed before any bid is submitted.
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