Starting with Solar

Go performed a preliminary economic analysis and a regulatory review, which suggested that CFES could install municipal-scale solar with positive cash flow. We also examined the significant economic drivers for these projects, which included CFES peak reductions during capacity and transmission pricing hours, the value of the project’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs), and the wholesale market value of the solar generated energy.

Go and CFES identified viable City-owned, CFES-served locations with a range of potential solar sizes based on available roof space, parking area, and land. We helped CFES develop and review the responses to an RFP that contained several options for the solar array sizing and location as well as the option to couple the solar with battery storage.

A Shift in Focus

One goal of the RFP was to leverage vendor expertise by allowing optionality in their submissions. CFES received several compelling alternate bids that expanded our collective understanding of the project’s potential and current technology options. These responses caused CFES to temporarily pause the deployment of solar and pivot to explore in-grid energy storage.

Exploring Energy Storage

By analyzing the solar RFP responses, our current understanding of the state of BESS, and relevant case studies, we developed an understanding of BESS’s potential in their system. With evidence in favor of CFES pursuing a BESS, we worked with CFES to create a request for information (RFI) to engage the market to answer pressing questions. The RFI focused on identifying specifics of BESS’ value creation strategies, contract structures, and design considerations.

The RFI responses greatly enhanced our collective understanding of how a BESS project could benefit the CFES electric grid and what project options would best suit their needs. We also gained insights into the relative scale of each of the value streams a BESS can access and how nuances of different contract styles would impact CFES’s economics, logistics, and benefits. This information was then used to engage the market through a request for proposals (RFP).