Revised RFP for green energy projects to be published Tuesday
By The Star Staff
While it is subject to change, the revised request for proposals (RFP) and bids for the third tranche of renewable energy and battery storage projects the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) intends to procure will be made available starting Tuesday.
The documents will be available through Sept. 1. Accion Group, the company hired by the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) to oversee the tenders, made the announcement late last week.
The draft RFP for Tranche 3, issued in February, sought to procure 500 megawatts (MW) of renewable generation projects and 250 MW of energy storage capacity.
The latest revisions to the documents, which were issued in June and may be subject to change, increase the amount of renewable energy and battery storage to be purchased.
“For this RFP, PREPA intends to procure 1,000 MW of Renewable Energy Resource capacity and at least 500 MW (2,000 MWh) of Energy Storage Resource capacity with an effective duration of two (2) to six (6) hours, as well as all their associated environmental credits under the terms and conditions set forth in the Contract,” the revised version says. “Contract terms will be between twenty (20) and twenty-five (25) years, except for VPPs [virtual power plants], whose term will be between three (3) and five (5) years,”.
The RFP would be the third of six tranches of RFPs intended to procure some 3,750 MW of renewable energy resources and 1,500 MW of energy storage during a three-year period.
PREPA is overseeing the first tranche of energy procurement, which went out to bid in February 2021, and will continue to manage such RFPs. However, PREB is managing the rest of the tranches through an independent contractor, Accion Group.
By 2050, Puerto Rico must draw all of its energy from renewable sources.