A new energy storage procurement guidance document from Sandia National Laboratories offers useful information for states, municipalities, project developers and end users to consider as they develop solicitations for energy storage projects. This document was created by Sandia in partnership with Clean Energy Group and the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA). The guide includes two sample Request for Proposal (RFP) templates and a matrix of elements to include in both utility-scale and behind-the-meter energy storage projects.
“As interest in energy storage continues to increase and many potential owners become involved in actual projects, a guide to effective procurement will be an essential tool for successful deployment of storage,” says Dr. Imre Gyuk from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability who funded the work. Additional funding was provided by Barr Foundation.
The document was originally drafted as a resource for Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ Community Clean Energy Resilience Initiative awardees, but it is now available for use by any entity soliciting energy storage proposals.
The materials are designed to give specific examples of the elements that should be included in a solicitation for the procurement and installation of a battery energy storage system.
“This document brings together all of the lessons we have learned from a wide variety of energy storage projects world-wide and makes that information available for use” said Sandia Technical Project Lead Dan Borneo.
Included in this package are:
- Matrix of elements to include in a Request for Proposals
- Template for Request for Proposals for behind-the-meter energy storage projects
- Template of a Request for Proposals for utility-scale energy storage projects
The matrix serves as a checklist of items that should be included in an energy storage RFP. It also suggests information that should be provided in the RFP and questions that should be asked of potential vendors. Finally, the matrix includes information on what to look for in vendor responses.
Since the details are different depending on the scale of the project, the two templates address the specifics for utility-scale and behind-the-meter energy storage projects. The templates serve as examples of the layout, language, and specifications that could be included in an RFP.
This document is available at http://www.sandia.gov/ess/publications/SAND2016-6120.pdf and at http://cesa.org/resource-library/resource/energy-storage-procurement-guidance-documents-for-municipalities.
Some of the information in this document was previously presented in a webinar on the topic of energy storage procurement. This webinar, “Procurement Guidance for Energy Storage Projects: Help with RFIs, RFQs and RFPs,” is available at: http://cesa.org/webinars/procurement-guidance-for-energy-storage-projects-help-with-rfis-rfqs-and-rfps/. The webinar was a production of the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). Learn more about ESTAP at: http://cesa.org/projects/energy-storage-technology-advancement-partnership/.