TVA’s Call For 5 GW Carbon Free Energy

• TVA has launched an RFP to procure power from up to 5 GW carbon-free energy in the US
• Solar is among accepted technologies, with or without BESS, but all clean energy projects need to come online before 2029
• Minimum individual capacity of solar energy projects is stated as 2 MW, and maximum can go up to 500 MW

US utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has launched one among the largest clean energy procurement requests in the country for up to 5 GW of carbon free energy that needs to become operational before 2029.

Power generation technologies that are welcome to respond to this request for proposals (RFP) round include solar PV, offshore or onshore wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass, nuclear, green gas, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) either standalone or paired with the above-mentioned sources, and hybrid combination of all of the above.

All participating projects need to be located within the TVA service territory or delivered to its interface with neighboring transmission systems. Projects need to start generating electricity between June 1, 2026 and December 1, 2029. TVA has specified that it won't accept projects with commercial operation dates between November 15 through January 5 of any given year.

Existing projects may be submitted for start dates from June 1, 2023 through December 1, 2029.

For solar PV, the minimum generation nameplate capacity for an individual project is 2 MW, and maximum 500 MW. Solar facilities of over 5 MW capacity need to deploy 250 kVA or higher capacity inverters. All solar resources need to have tracking.

An electricity supplier to commercial entities, TVA said the RFP is part of its strategy to reduce carbon from its portfolio by 70% by 2030 from 2005 levels, increase it to 80% by 2035 and eventually reach net zero by 2050. To get there, it is 'aggressively exploring and accelerating carbon-free technologies' to bring an additional 10 GW solar energy capacity online by 2035.

Calling the launch of this RFP a 'bold' and 'decisive action', TVA's President and CEO Jeff Lyash said, "This announcement is a clear signal to our industry, our partners, and our nation that we need to move further and faster, together, to make a cleaner future a reality."

Last date to submit proposals is October 19, 2022. Winners will be announced in Spring 2023. Details of the RFP are available on TVA's website.