Arizona Public Service Company revealed plans to expand its renewable energy portfolio to nearly 2.5GW by 2021 by adding 400MW of new solar and wind capacity in Arizona.
In this regard, the US utility is looking to issue two requests for proposals (RFPs) by mid-September 2019. The company expects to power more than half a million Arizona homes by 2021 following the commissioning of the new renewable facilities.
The first of its RFPs will invite competitive proposals for up to 150MW of solar resources to be owned by the company and brought into service by 2021. The new solar generation will be designed to facilitate energy storage as a future option.
A second RFP will call for proposals for adding 250MW of wind resources to be commissioned as early as possible, but no later than 2022.
The two RFPs will enable commercial customers to partner with Arizona Public Service in support of their own goals in sustainability and clean energy.
Arizona Public Service said that for each RFP, the entire procurement process will be reviewed by a different third-party, independent monitor.
The utility expects to release specific information about each solicitation in the next few weeks.
Currently, the utility caters to nearly 2.7 million people in 11 of the 15 counties in Arizona.
Previous initiatives of Arizona Public Service
In February, Arizona Public Service announced initiatives to add 850MW of battery storage and more than 100MW of new solar generation by 2025, representing 950MW of new clean-energy technology.
In April, the utility issued RFPs on two new clean-energy projects to be built in different parts of Arizona. The first RFP is seeking partners to add batteries to the existing solar plants of the company in rural Arizona in Chino Valley and Red Rock to store their power for use after the panels stop producing each day.
In the second RFP, the company is seeking a partner to develop a large new solar plant to be paired with storage, to deliver more clean energy to customers once the sun goes down.
