Procurement Guidance for Storage and Solar-Plus
More than one-third of all solar generation projects that are currently proposed and waiting in interconnection queues across the U.S. are so-called hybrid projects, including both solar and storage technologies. Yet, despite the apparent boom in this sector, best practices for utility-side project procurement have been slow to emerge. SPECs has worked with electric co-ops and stakeholders, including upstream energy suppliers and leaders in the storage industry, to identify best practices that could speed procurements while addressing growing needs for collaboration and flexibility.
On this page, SPECs offers a process framework for solar-plus-storage procurement, as an essential checklist for process steps and considerations. A procurement guidance brief, tuned specifically to the SPECs framework, goes into more detail on key parts of the process. For example, it describes the need for an early review of wholesale contracts and policies. These are further detailed in the policy landscape webinar and white paper, provided below. The guidance brief then summarizes contents for procurement documents, e.g., Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Offers (RFO), which typically applies to market-facing projects. Supplemental resources include RFP templates from Sandia National Labs and NRECA. SPECs considers such documents helpful, but each utility's needs will be unique. Instead of providing specific language, SPECs recommends that utilities review options, such as those represented in our RFP Library, below, before crafting their language. For details on further training, technical support, and process facilitation offered by team partners Cliburn and Associates and NCCETC, contact us here. |
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Baseline Knowledge Helps Build Your Vision
Many local utilities outsource support for procurement. In fact, SPECs sees the engagement of additional support at key points in the process as a best practice. That support may come from any of a number of partners—a wholesale G&T or upstream power provider, a consultant with strong solar and storage capabilities, another utility that could help lead a joint procurement, or a co-op related organization, such as NRTC, NRCO, or a financing partner. Yet, make no mistake, the local utility's interests are best served by their full participation, drawing on baseline knowledge and strategic vision.
Webinar: Case Studies of Co-op Solar-Plus-Storage Procurement
The webinar below is drawn from a SPECs workshop on Procurement Best Practices and Lessons Learned. Policy Analyst, David Sarkisian, of the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) moderates the session, including:
- Bob Gibson, an NRECA contractor and co-author of recent NRECA energy storage publications, provides co-op case studies and the lessons that they exemplify.
- John Lemire, Director of Grid Management for North Carolina EMCs, provides a detailed look at local energy storage projects in that state, including a microgrid project designed for storm-related resilience.
- Laura Caspari, Vice President of Origination for Engie, offers a developer's perspective on numerous co-op and consumer-owned utility projects. She also comments on the relationship between Engie and NRTC, a technology cooperative that helps local electric co-ops procure and integrate clean energy solutions.
| procurement_best_practices_case_studies_2020.pdf |
High-Level Process and Procurement Framework
The process for utility-side storage and solar-plus-storage projects depicted above is a flexible framework that distribution utilities of all kinds may adapt to plan and track their progress. The steps indicated in orange are key action steps, the steps indicated in gray are research steps, and the steps indicated in blue are optional, depending on a given utility's preference. Outsourced expertise is indicated as a best practice for the latter stages of contract negotiation, but it may be considered at earlier stages. Partnership with an upstream wholesale supplier is another common customization for this process, which could be developed during or after the concept stage. The guidance brief, Emerging Best Practices for Procurement of Battery Storage and Solar-Plus Systems, provides more detail and lessons, based on case-studies of utilities using both PPA/ESA and asset/ownership acquisition models.
Emerging Best Practices for Procurement of Battery Storage and Solar-Plus Systems, Cliburn, J., Cliburn and Associates, LLC, September 2021.
Emerging Best Practices for Procurement of Battery Storage and Solar-Plus Systems, Cliburn, J., Cliburn and Associates, LLC, September 2021.
| procurement_guidance_brief_09_2021.pdf |
Procurement Resources That Focus on Solar, With Lessons for Solar-Plus
Most utilities that are developing solar-plus-storage projects already have solar project development experience. But some do not—and others may be new to using the solar PPA or hybrid solar-plus PPA/ESA acquisition model. For a review of reasons why smaller and non-taxable utilities turn to third-party solar financing through PPAs, see the solar financing resources under the Shared Solar tab of this website. Some details may need to be updated, but this is one of relatively few sources specifically for consumer-owned distribution utilities (COUs). The U.S. EPA offers more, recently updated information on financing and procurement using the PPA model. It is aimed for local governments, but utilities may adapt it to their needs.
Policy Barriers and Opportunities That Affect Project Planning and Procurement
Institutional and Policy Landscape for Solar-Plus-Storage Deployment by Electric Cooperatives, Sarkisian, D. and Cliburn, J., Solar Plus for Electric Co-ops, July, 2021.
One of the first steps in planning and procurement for local utility storage or solar-plus-storage is to check for contractual and policy barriers that could affect the proposed acquisition. Incentives and new opportunities may also be unearthed. To support this early-stage effort, the SPECs project produced a white paper, which examines three levels of policy as they apply to the co-op sector and to local co-ops in particular. These include 1) state and local policies, 2) federal policies and related regional policies, and 3) policies and conventions that stem from institutions in the co-op sector, especially the relationships and agreements between local co-ops and their wholesale generating and transmission (G&T) suppliers. Note that policies affecting solar-plus-storage change quickly; we recommend looking for updates from NCCETC or its free DSIRE.org website.
One of the first steps in planning and procurement for local utility storage or solar-plus-storage is to check for contractual and policy barriers that could affect the proposed acquisition. Incentives and new opportunities may also be unearthed. To support this early-stage effort, the SPECs project produced a white paper, which examines three levels of policy as they apply to the co-op sector and to local co-ops in particular. These include 1) state and local policies, 2) federal policies and related regional policies, and 3) policies and conventions that stem from institutions in the co-op sector, especially the relationships and agreements between local co-ops and their wholesale generating and transmission (G&T) suppliers. Note that policies affecting solar-plus-storage change quickly; we recommend looking for updates from NCCETC or its free DSIRE.org website.
| 2021_07_14_specs_policy_landscape_for_download.pdf |
Accompanying Webinar and Slides
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Current Insights on Solar-Plus-Storage Contracts and Pricing
Front of the Meter Battery Service Agreements, Lowder, T., National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Presentation to SPECs Workshop, February 2021.)
This presentation, from a SPECs workshop on Solar-Plus-Storage Procurement Best Practices summarizes concerns and potential solutions for storage and solar-plus-storage project planners, pertaining to contractual energy storage service agreements. It cites a particularly useful reference, the publicly available K&L Gates Battery Storage Handbook.
This presentation, from a SPECs workshop on Solar-Plus-Storage Procurement Best Practices summarizes concerns and potential solutions for storage and solar-plus-storage project planners, pertaining to contractual energy storage service agreements. It cites a particularly useful reference, the publicly available K&L Gates Battery Storage Handbook.
| 2021_lowder_nrel_battery_agreements.pdf |
This library of utility requests for information (RFIs) and requests for proposals (RFPs) includes publicly available documents, mostly issued on behalf of electric co-ops or other public power utilities. The documents in this directory provide useful examples for comparison regarding the different approaches that utilities are using for distribution-scale solar and solar-plus-storage systems today. No endorsements or recommendations for best practices are offered here. Readers must apply due diligence in deciding whether a given approach would be useful in their specific utility for their project request, including individual project eligibility for Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) incentives. An accompanying document Annotated Directory of Recent RFIs and RFPs summarizes the objectives and context for the documents listed and provides links to some issuing websites. Some links will not be retained by their sponsors, so we have loaded copies of the documents directly on this site.
Read First: Notes Describing RFPs in this Library
Read First: Notes Describing RFPs in this Library
| 2021_08_13_2_rfp_library_notes.pdf |
* Acknowledgements and a Disclaimer, which are required on the U.S. Department of Energy funded portion of this work, are included on under the About/Project tab of this website. Users of all resources and information on this site are cautioned to perform due diligence in adapting content to a specific local project or opportunity.