The Long
Island Power Authority (LIPA) recently announced a new Feed in Tariff program
(FIT) intended to spark 50 mW of commercial and large scale solar projects over
the next two years. The program builds off of the current Solar Pioneer and Entrepreneur
Program, and new solar projects within the LIPA service area that are of 50kW
or more are eligible. LIPA has committed to purchasing all of the energy
generated through this program. The rate is subject to change, however once the
PPA is signed it will remain at the agreed upon rate for 20 years. As of now
LIPA is committing to a rate of at a fixed rate of $0.22/kW over that 20 year
lifespan.
The
program will begin accepting applications on July 16, 2012 at 8:00am and
continue until June 30, 2014, or once LIPA has signed a total of 50mW of solar
PV, whichever comes first. LIPA has not determined if additional PV capacity
blocks will be added after the first 50mW is filled, but as of now there is no
intention to do so.
Read on for a complete overview of the program, application process, and links to additional information.
LIPA Feed in Tariff Program
The Long
Island Power Authority (LIPA) recently announced a new Feed in Tariff program
(FIT) intended to spark 50 mW of commercial and large scale solar projects over
the next two years. The program builds off of the current Solar Pioneer and Entrepreneur
Program, and new solar projects within the LIPA service area that are of 50kW
or more are eligible. LIPA has committed to purchasing all of the energy
generated through this program. The rate is subject to change, however once the
PPA is signed it will remain at the agreed upon rate for 20 years. As of now
LIPA is committing to a rate of at a fixed rate of $0.22/kW over that 20 year
lifespan.
The
program will begin accepting applications on July 16, 2012 at 8:00am and
continue until June 30, 2014, or once LIPA has signed a total of 50mW of solar
PV, whichever comes first. LIPA has not determined if additional PV capacity
blocks will be added after the first 50mW is filled, but as of now there is no
intention to do so.
Program Details
The
program has three system size tiers to ensure a variety of projects are
participating. Five mW of total capacity is reserved for PV systems with
nameplate capacity of greater than 50kW and up to and including 150kW. The
second tier reserves a block of 10mW of total capacity for PV systems with more
than 150kW and up to and including 500 kW in nameplate capacity. The third tier
includes 35 mW of unreserved capacity. Additional PV systems in the smaller
size ranges can be enrolled as a part of this third tier. And although a single
applicant can apply for multiple projects, subject to some limitations, they
may not request multiple meters at the same location in order to qualify for the
tiers reserved for smaller generators. The system capacity is determined by either
the sum of the 100% AC rated output of all inverters or the sum of the PTC/CEC
system size multiplied by the CEC inverter efficiency.
The
program will accept projects of at least 50kW, until June 30, 2014, or once
LIPA has signed a total of 50mW of solar PV, whichever comes first. LIPA has
not determined if additional PV capacity blocks will be added after the first
50mW is filled, but as of now there is no intention to do so. There will be a
dedicated meter for each approved project. And LIPA will own all Renewable
Energy Credits produced by these facilities.
LIPA has
committed to a rate of $0.22/kW over that 20 year lifespan, however that is
subject to change and
there is no peak production rate.
A
project can be sold or transferred to a 3rd party subject to the
terms and conditions of the PPA, and the FIT rate will not change. However, in
the event of a transfer of ownership, the original applicant is still fully
responsible for all of the obligations and liabilities according to the PPA. There
can be more than one owner per project, but only one person or entity can sign
the PPA and be responsible for executing its terms. Furthermore, more than one
project can exist on a given site; however, it may not be eligible for more
than one meter.
At the
end of the 20 year PPA, the system owner may keep, dismantle, sell or continue
the systems operation subject to the terms and conditions in place at the time
of expiration. If the project is rendered inoperable for longer than 12 months
before the terms of the PPA expire, LIPA may terminate the PPA and cease FIT
payments to the owner.
Eligibility
Projects that are rated at
greater than 50kW AC and no more than 20,000 kW are eligible to participate in
the FIT program. They must achieve and maintain qualifying facility (QF) status[1]
within the meaning of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
(PURPA) and the applicable regulations of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. The system must comply with the smart grid small generator
interconnection procedures, and a standard PPA and an interconnection agreement
must be signed between the project owner and LIPA. And finally, the owner must
have and be able to prove, control over the site at the time of application.
Ownership can be proven by title, leasehold rights, or other legally
enforceable real property rights to the project site and any transmission
rights of way. The owner needs to be able to develop, construct and operate the
proposed solar facility on the site and build and operate necessary
interconnection facilities. At the application stage this can be demonstrated through
a legally binding option or other form of contract to acquire such real
property rights. However, at the date of execution on the PPA the owner will be
required to make a legally binding representation and warranty that it has all
the necessary real property rights to develop, construct and operate.
The
projects must use new equipment, and be installed within the LIPA service territory.
Application
Applications
will be accepted starting at 8:00am on July 16, 2012. The position in the
reservation queue will be determined by a couple of factors. The primary
determining factor will be the date which the applicant meets all of the
requirements for immediate interconnection to the LIPA system. However, for
generators up to 2,000kW the determining date will be the date on which LIPA
receives the applicant’s commitment to the completion of the coordinated
electric system interconnection review (CESIR) as defined in the small
generator interconnection procedures. For larger units, those larger than 2,000
kW nameplate capacities- the determining date will be the date on which the
LIPA receives the applicant’s feasibility study agreement, or if no feasibility
study is performed, the applicants systems impact study agreement as defined in
the SGIP.
A
project’s spot in the reservation queue is not indefinite. No limit has been
established yet, however, LIPA has reserved the right to limit a project’s time
as an applicant before it completes its interconnection process. LIPA has
stated that once that time has been determined it will be applied to all
applicants equally.
The
application is done via a checkbox on the standards SGIP application. A flow
chart of the SGIP process, produced by LIPA, is attached. A link to relevant
forms and examples for the applications are also included below.
If the system is inverter based for 200kW or less and compliant
with UL 1741 and LIPA approved for fast track, the application will require:
·
A letter of authorization by the
customer
·
Standard single page application
form
·
Signed copy of the standardized
contract
·
Detailed single line diagram for the
system identifying the manufacturer and model number of the equipment
·
A copy of the manufacturer’s data
sheet for the equipment
·
A copy of the manufacturer’s
verification test procedure
·
Equipment certification to UL 1741
·
Site control documentation
If the system is a distributed resource system for 25kW to
2mW of generation, the SGIP/FIT application will require:
·
A letter of authorization by the
customer (if the applicant is an agent for the customer)
·
The standard page application form
completed and signed
·
A signed copy of the standardized
contract
·
A three line diagram for the system
identifying the manufacturer and model number of the equipment
·
A copy of the manufacturer’s data
sheet for the equipment
·
A copy of the manufacturer’s verification
test procedure
·
A copy of the equipment
certification to UL 1741
·
Site control documentation
There is
a fee for the FIT application process and they made a point that it is in
addition to the fee for the standard SGIP application process. However, no
mention of an application fee for the SGIP was made on the website. So further
inquiry into that fee is necessary. The FIT application fee, however, is waived
if the project is ready to deliver energy to the grid immediately. If it is not
ready for immediate generation applications for projects greater than 50kW but
less than 150kW includes a fee of $500. For projects greater than 150 kW but
less than 500kW the fee is $1500 per application, and for projects greater than
500kW the application fee is $5000.
Further Information
·
SGIP/FIT
procedure and necessary application documents http://www.lipower.org/company/papers/interconnect-SGIP.html
·
SGIP/FIT process
flowchart- attached as PDF also found at http://www.lipower.org/pdfs/cei/solar/FIT-process.pdf
·
Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act (PURPA)- full text http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/16C46.txt
[1]
I am assuming that the qualified facility (QF)
LIPA refers to in its eligibility requirements is the Qualified Smart Grid
Systems defined in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 18:A-C
(18) Consideration of smart grid investment(A) In general Each
State shall consider requiring that, prior to undertaking investments in
nonadvanced grid technologies, an electric utility of the State demonstrate to
the State that the electric utility considered an investment in a qualified
smart grid system based on appropriate factors, including - (i) total costs; (ii)
cost-effectiveness;(iii) improved reliability;(iv) security;(v) system
performance; and(vi) societal benefit.(B) Rate recovery Each State shall
consider authorizing each electric utility of the State to recover from ratepayers
any capital, operating expenditure, or other costs of the electric utility
relating to the deployment of a qualified smart grid system, including a reasonable
rate of return on the capital expenditures of the electric utility for the
deployment of the qualified smart grid system.(C) Obsolete equipment Each State
shall consider authorizing any electric utility or other party of the State to
deploy a qualified smart grid system to recover in a timely manner the
remaining book-value costs of any equipment rendered obsolete by the deployment
of the qualified smart grid system, based on the remaining depreciable life of
the obsolete equipment.
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