American Electric Power Service Corporation (AEPSC), on behalf of Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), has issued a request for proposal (RfP) to procure power from 800 MW of wind and 500 MW of solar projects and supplemental capacity resources to meet overall capacity need in Indiana, U.S.

The supplemental capacity can be standalone storage, emerging technologies, thermal, or other resources.

The last day to submit the bids is April 21, 2022.

AEPSC and Indiana Michigan Power Company are American Electric Power Company subsidiaries.

AEPSC seeks to acquire the total capacity via one or more purchase and sale agreements to acquire 100% of the project’s limited liability company (Project LLC) at mechanical completion for solar projects and completion for wind projects.

Each project must be a complete, commercially operable, integrated solar-powered electric generating plant. The projects should include all necessary facilities to generate and deliver energy and be connected to PJM by the expected commercial operation date, i.e., December 15, 2024, or December 15, 2025.

If the project is interconnected to Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the bidder will be responsible for securing firm transmission from the project in MISO to PJM.

Projects interconnected to I&M’s distribution electrical system must have a completed Distribution Impact Study from the I&M Distribution Planning Group.

Bidder must have a completed PJM System Impact Study and be active in the PJM queue. 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.

The minimum acceptable solar project size is 5 MW. The optional BESS must be within a ratio of 5:1 to 3:1 of the nameplate rating (MWac) of the solar or wind energy resource to the nameplate rating of the energy storage system. The BESS must have a minimum of four hours of capacity. Standalone energy storage resource proposals will be accepted in this tender. The projects must qualify for the Federal Investment Tax Credit.

Bidders must have established substantial site control of the proposed project in the form of direct ownership, land lease, land lease option, or easement for at least 35 years. The project must have a minimum design life of 30 years. The design life for supplemental capacity resources is technology-dependent, with a preference for 30 years and a minimum of 15 years.

In February, AEPSC had issued an RfP to procure power from 150 MW of solar projects with optional battery energy storage systems in West Virginia.

In October 2021, AEP Energy Partners had issued an RfP to procure power from new or repowered wind and solar plants and BESS located within the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland (PJM) markets.