Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. 2021 All-Source Capacity and Energy RFP

AEPCO (Arizona Electric Power Cooperative) seeks proposals for generation, energy storage, and demand-side resources to meet energy needs through an all-source procurement process. This RFP solicits proposals for renewable energy resources (solar, wind), energy storage (battery storage with various configurations), non-renewable generation, and load management from demand-side resources. Bidders may propose standalone resources or hybrid configurations including solar paired with battery storage, wind, wind plus solar plus storage, and distributed generators or batteries for resiliency-as-a-service programs.

Proposed resources may be located on AEPCO-provided land at the Apache Generation site in Arizona or at alternative locations within AEPCO's service territory or other interconnection points. Bidders should account for interconnection costs, transmission charges if applicable, environmental permitting, and feasibility studies in their proposals. Projects can interconnect at various voltages (69 kV, 115 kV, 230 kV, or 345 kV) depending on project size and location. Minimum quantity requirements of 10 MW apply to most resource types; however, load management resources require a minimum of 1 MW of aggregated coincident capacity. Battery storage must provide a minimum of 120 full cycles per year for firm capacity consideration. Proposals for solar-battery pairs that depend on solar-only charging must have battery capacity not exceeding 100% of solar capacity (power rating). If batteries can charge from the grid, no sizing ratio requirement applies.

Key dates include bidder registration form deadline of November 19, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. MST, proposal submission deadline of December 17, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. MST, Q&A period from November 5 through December 3, 2021, bid screening through April 29, 2022, shortlist notification on May 2, 2022, best and final offers period from May 2-13, 2022, final analysis through July 29, 2022, and award notification on August 1, 2022. Contract term sheets must be finalized by December 31, 2022.

Bidders must submit registration forms (Appendix D) and execute confidentiality agreements (Appendix E). Proposal evaluation will use resource-specific forms (Appendices C-1 through C-5) for non-renewable generation, energy storage, renewable generation, firm liquidated damages PPAs, call option products, and load management from demand-side resources. AEPCO will evaluate proposals based on cost, resource value, reliability contribution, and strategic fit. No deposit or credit posting requirement exists at the time of proposal submission, though credit support may be negotiated post-award based on counterparty creditworthiness.