Appalachian Power has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking up to 25 megawatts alternating current (MWac) of ground-mounted solar energy resources. Appalachian Power may pursue purchase of either the solar facilities at completion or the facilities' energy output from winning bidders if certain economic and operational criteria are met.
To qualify for consideration, projects must be located within the company's Virginia or West Virginia service territory, be interconnected to the PJM Regional Transmission Operator (RTO) or to Appalachian Power's distribution system, and have a nameplate rating of 5 MWac or more. Qualifying projects must have started construction after Jan. 1, 2016, and be operational by Dec. 31, 2019.
Complete qualification criteria and required forms are available online at http://www.appalachianpower.com/go/rfp. Proposals must be submitted by March 9, 2017.
Solar projects selected by Appalachian through the RFP process are conditioned upon and subject to approval by the required regulatory authorities. If proposals are ultimately approved, they will be the first solar projects in Appalachian Power's generating portfolio.
Appalachian Power is a leader in renewable energy, producing 1,900 Gigawatt-hours of energy annually from wind- and hydro-power enough power to supply 150,000 homes.
Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 223,000 miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning approximately 31,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S.
