AEP Energy Partners (AEPEP), a subsidiary of American Electric Power, has issued a request for proposal (RfP) to procure power from new or repowered wind and solar plants and battery energy storage systems (BESS). The projects must be located within the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland (PJM) market in the United States.

The total capacity to be contracted is expected to be between 300 MW to 500 MW. The last day to submit the bids is October 13, 2021.

PJM is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. It acts as a neutral entity to operate a competitive wholesale electricity market and manages the high-voltage electricity grid to ensure reliability for more than 65 million people.

In the case of wind and solar projects, the bidders must pay bid security of $50/KW. Once commercial operation of the projects commences, the bidders will have to pay $100/KW.

The BESS should be up to 50 MW/200 MWh capacity with guaranteed performance and output of 4,000 hours per annum.

For the PJM sited projects, the company is seeking renewable energy purchase agreements of 10, 12, or 15 years for solar and wind facilities, including incremental power from repowering and BESS that begin operation between 2021 and 2024.

AEPEP intends to offtake power from wind and solar projects located in AEPOHIO_RESID_AGG, AEPOHIO_RESID_AGG, DOMINION ZONE, DOMINION HUB, WESTERN HUB, and COMED_ZONE in PJM territory. The standalone BESS projects can be located anywhere in PJM territory.

In February this year, Appalachian Power, another subsidiary of American Electric Power, invited bids to develop 300 MW of solar and wind projects. The request for bids is the first in a series of RfPs that the company has planned for this year to comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

AEPEP had signed a letter of intent with BQ Energy Development to purchase a 100% offtake of the Columbus Solar Park developed southwest of downtown Columbus, Ohio. The solar project is scheduled to be operational by December 2022.