The Procurement Administrator has conducted two procurement events to procure RECs from Brownfield projects: the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP and the Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP. No RECs were procured from brownfield projects under the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP. The average winning price of Brownfield Projects under the Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP was $58.10/REC.

Additional information on the 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP and the 2019 Brownfield RFP is posted in the Previous RFPs page on the procurement website. For example, to access the results of the 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP or the 2019 Brownfield RFP, first click on the “2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Procurement and 2019 Brownfield Procurement (AIC, ComEd, and MEC)” link, and download the results posted at the top of the page under the header “Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale RFP Results” or “Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP Results”.

The project must be located in Illinois and must be entirely located within a site that is regulated by one of the following “Programs”: (1) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (“CERCLA”); (2) the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“U.S. EPA”) under the Corrective Action Program of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended (“RCRA”); (3) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“IEPA”) under the Illinois Solid Waste Program; or (4)  the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Site Remediation Program (“SRP”).

The brownfield procurement that was conducted in 2019 had target of 80,000 RECs delivered annually, in excess of the statutory target for 2020-2021. While the exact quantity procured was not released, the IPA noted in its Revised Long-Term Plan that this procurement resulted in the IPA exceeding its statutory target of 40,000 RECs delivered annually by 2020-2021.

In its Revised Long-Term Plan, the IPA also notes that unless additional funding becomes available, its available funds will not be sufficient to support another brownfield procurement.  However, should additional funding become available, the IPA proposed that the first priority would be to meet the 2025-2026 targets under the Adjustable Block Program and the IPA proposed that the second priority would be to hold an additional brownfield procurement with a target quantity of 50,000 RECs delivered annually.

Please see the IPA’s draft Revised Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan released on August 15, 2019 available here: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/ipa/Pages/Renewable_Resources.aspx

The Act requires brownfield site photovoltaic projects to be located at a site that is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under either the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, or the Corrective Action program of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended; or by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under either the Illinois Site Remediation Program, or the Illinois Solid Waste Program.

A project on a greenfield site does not qualify.  A brownfield project does not have to be utility-scale, i.e., the project may be less than 2 MW (AC rating) in size.

Section 1-75(c) of Public Act 099-0906 mandates that the IPA to procure at least 2,000,000 RECs from new photovoltaic projects of which “at least 2% from brownfield site photovoltaic projects that are not community renewable generation projects”. Thus, the requirement that the RECs procured from brownfield projects not be from community renewable generation projects is mandated by law.  A brownfield project does not have to be utility-scale, i.e., the project may be less than 2 MW (AC rating) in size.

Please join our mailing list to receive updates and announcements regarding RFPs announced by the Procurement Administrator by completing the Contact Us form here: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/contact-us/register/.

The Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP has concluded. The procurement website currently contains dedicated pages for the remainder of events to be held in 2019: Fall Block Energy and Capacity RFP, Utility-Scale Wind RFP, Low-Income Community Solar Pilot Program, and Community Renewable Generation Program.

The Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) released its update to the Initial Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan on August 15, 2019. This plan is in draft form for public comment and includes an overview of the procurements and programs administered by the Illinois Power Agency. The plan is available on the Renewable Resources page of the IPA website (https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/ipa/Pages/Renewable_Resources.aspx).

The results of the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP were released on December 4, 2018.  No successful bids were received from brownfield site photovoltaic projects, and thus no projects were selected under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP.

For competitive procurements, such as the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP, Section 16.111.5(h) of the Public Utilities Act provides as follows:

“The names of the successful bidders and the load weighted average of the winning bid prices for each contract type and for each contract term shall be made available to the public at the time of Commission approval of a procurement event. The Commission, the procurement monitor, the procurement administrator, the Illinois Power Agency, and all participants in the procurement process shall maintain the confidentiality of all other supplier and bidding information in a manner consistent with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and tariffs. Confidential information, including the confidential reports submitted by the procurement administrator and procurement monitor pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, shall not be made publicly available and shall not be discoverable by any party in any proceeding, absent a compelling demonstration of need, nor shall those reports be admissible in any proceeding other than one for law enforcement purposes.”

This section allows only the names of successful bidders and the weighted average of the winning bid prices to be made publicly available.  Further, provided that there are at least three successful suppliers, prior Commission Orders allow the quantities awarded also to be made publicly available.  Information, including “a detailed summary of the projects that submitted” a proposal, is considered confidential and cannot be provided.

In terms of why those projects were not successful, the following explanation for how this outcome could arise was provided at the time. Section 1-75(c)(1)(D) of the IPA Act requires that proposed REC prices cannot exceed benchmarks based on market prices or other publicly available data for the region.  Benchmarks are established by the Procurement Administrator, in consultation with the IPA, the Procurement Monitor, and the Staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and are subject to the review and approval of the Commission.  Benchmark prices are specific to each category of product being procured, and to protect the integrity of the IPA’s competitive procurement processes, all aspects of the benchmark development process (including the resulting benchmark prices) are treated as confidential.

Consequently, each bid submitted must first meet or beat the benchmark price applicable to that category before proceeding to evaluation.  Bids not exceeding the benchmark price for that category are then ranked in order of price per REC, starting with the lowest price, until the annual REC delivery target for that category is met or until all bids that meet or beat the benchmark price have been ranked.  These bids are selected and identified by the Procurement Administrator to the Commission as winning bids.

Revised 7/25/2019 first posted 2/19/2019

As stated on page 87 of the Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, “The Initial Forward Procurements, conducted in August 2017, March 2018, and April 2018, did not procure any RECs from new brownfield site photovoltaic projects, and the Agency has not otherwise procured any RECs that would satisfy the brownfield site photovoltaic project requirement.” The average winning price of $5.01/REC that you reference was for RECs from utility-scale solar projects only. Under the Initial Forward Procurements, there was no carve-out for brownfield site photovoltaic projects. All RECs from utility-scale solar projects and from brownfield site photovoltaic projects were evaluated together.

This was not the case for the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP. Under this procurement event, utility-scale solar projects and from brownfield site photovoltaic projects were evaluated separately. Ultimately, no successful bids were received from brownfield site photovoltaic projects and thus no such projects were selected.

The IPA received feedback on any barriers that may have limited successful participation in the Brownfield Procurement. A document listing specific questions that the Agency posed is available on their website here. The comments received are posted on the Illinois Power Agency’s (“IPA”) website here.

Revised 7/25/2019 first posted 2/19/2019

The comments are posted on the Illinois Power Agency’s (“IPA”) website here. Information was redacted in accordance with the IPA’s Questions and Request for Comments posted on February 5, 2019.  The IPA has not provided responses at this time.

A procurement for 80,000 RECs delivered annually from new brownfield site photovoltaic projects was held in Fall 2018 under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP. No successful bids were received from brownfield site photovoltaic projects, and thus no projects were selected under this RFP. Information regarding this previous RFP is available on the procurement website here.

On March 28, 2019, the IPA filed a petition requesting that the Illinois Commerce Commission (“Commission”) clarify that the IPA had the authority to run a second procurement event to procure RECs from new brownfield site photovoltaic projects. The Commission issued its Order on April 26, 2019 confirming that the IPA had the authority to run a procurement event for 80,000 RECs delivered annually from new brownfield site photovoltaic projects. This procurement event will be held in Summer 2019.

Information pertaining to the Summer 2019 Brownfield procurement event is posted to the dedicated Brownfield page of the procurement website. The schedule for this procurement event is posted to the Calendar page.

Revised 7/25/2019 first posted 3/19/2019

It is acceptable to not submit a Bid on Bid Date for one or more of the Projects for which a Bidder provided bid assurance collateral. There is no penalty for not submitting a Bid. If a Bid is not submitted for a Project, that Project will not be considered in selecting the winning Projects.

The deadline for submitting the Part 1 Proposal for the Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP was June 20, 2019 and late proposals cannot be accepted.

The annual quantity of RECs selected for a Project, if the Bid for that Project is selected, will not be less than the partial award quantity and will not exceed the full quantity, but could be equal to the full quantity, the partial award quantity, or a value in between.

All projects submitted are listed in price order below:

Projects Clean Solar I, Brownfield II, Second Solar BF are selected each for its full quantity.  The number of RECs assigned to these Projects is 77,700.

There are 2,300 RECs still needed to fill the Target of 80,000 RECs.  Projects Brownfield I, First Solar BF, Clean Solar II have the same bid price, $40.00/REC. Each project has a partial award quantity smaller than the remaining Target of 2,300 and a full quantity greater than the remaining Target.

There are several allocations available to fill the Target:

• Allocation 1: Select Project Brownfield I for a partial award quantity of 2,300
• Allocation 2: Select Project First Solar BF for a partial award quantity of 2,300
• Allocation 3: Select Project Clean Solar II for a partial award quantity of 2,300
• Allocation 4: Select Project First Solar BF for a partial award quantity of 1,150 and Project Clean Solar II for a partial award quantity of 1,150

The first three allocations assign a partial award quantity of 2,300 to only one project (rather than two projects as in Allocation 4) and thus are preferred for this reason.  Allocations 1 through 3 all succeed in filling the Target.  One of these three allocation is randomly selected.  Project First Solar BF is selected for a partial award quantity of 2,300.

All projects submitted are listed in price order below:

Projects Clean Solar I, Brownfield II, Second Solar BF are selected each for its full quantity.  The number of RECs assigned to these Projects is 77,700.

There are 2,300 RECs still needed to fill the Target of 80,000 RECs.  The Seller for Project Brownfield I provided a partial award quantity of 3,000 RECs, indicating that it was only willing to accept a REC Contract for a quantity between 3,000 and 4,000 RECs annually. The Seller is not  willing to take a partial award quantity of 2,300 RECs. This project is not selected.

The evaluation continues to the next lowest bid – First Solar BF.   Project First Solar BF is selected for a partial award quantity of 2,300 RECs.  The Seller for this Project provided a partial award quantity of 2,000 RECs, indicating that the Seller was willing to accept a REC Contract for any quantity between 2,000 and 3,000 RECs annually (3,000 RECs being the full quantity for the Project).

All projects submitted are listed in price order below:

Projects Clean Solar I, Brownfield II, Second Solar BF are selected each for its full quantity.  The number of RECs assigned to these Projects is 77,700.

There are 2,300 RECs still needed to fill the Target of 80,000 RECs.  Project Brownfield I is selected for a partial award quantity of 2,300 RECs.  The Seller for this Project provided a partial award quantity of 2,000 RECs, indicating that the Seller was willing to accept a REC Contract for any quantity between 2,000 and 3,000 RECs annually (3,000 RECs being the full quantity for the Project).

The Procurement Administrator expects to notify a Bidder that had Bids that were evaluated whether any of the Bidder’s Bids are identified as winning Bids by the Procurement Administrator by 6 PM on the Bid Date.  Such notification is made earlier to the extent practicable or may be made on the next business day as circumstances warrant.  The Procurement Administrator provides a list to the Bidder of the Projects with Bids identified as winning Bids.  This notification occurs by phone with a written confirmation by email.  The Procurement Administrator provides no other information to a Bidder about the results of the procurement event.

The results from the Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP are expected to be made public at the time of Commission approval on Thursday, August 1, 2019.

At the time of Commission approval of a procurement event, the names of successful bidders and the average of the winning Bid prices are made public.  The quantity of RECs procured may also be disclosed if there are at least three successful bidders.

For a Project that does not have a signed interconnection agreement, the Procurement Administrator will allow a change in this regard in limited circumstances, namely if:

• The site control documentation as submitted with the Part 1 Proposal is sufficient to support the changed size of the Project;
• The Officer of the Seller resubmits the representations required by the P1 Project Certifications Insert (#P1-4); and
• The Bidder submits sufficient bid assurance collateral to support the increased size of the Project as necessary.

The Procurement Administrator requires notice of the Seller’s desire to change the Project size no later than five (5) business days prior to the Bid Date and the Procurement Administrator will determine whether such a change can be allowed at that time.

Please contact the Procurement Administrator as soon as possible if any information provided in the Part 1 Proposal changes or any previous certifications fail to remain valid.

In accordance with Section III.1.5 of the RFP Rules, if this is the case, it is the sole responsibility of the Bidder and Seller to notify the Procurement Administrator.  Failing to do so may result in disqualification of the Project and of the Proposal.  The Procurement Administrator reserves the right to change the assessment of qualifications based on any revised information provided by the Bidder or Seller.

There is no minimum or maximum size requirement for brownfield site photovoltaic projects.

The payment frequency is monthly.  For additional information about payment and delivery of RECs, please refer to the Brownfield REC Contract in the Final Materials page of the Brownfield section of the procurement website.

For a procurement event held by a Procurement Administrator on behalf of the Illinois Power Agency, the Commission makes public only the names of the successful bidders and the average of the winning bid prices.  As required by Section 16-111.5(h) of the Public Utilities Act, “all participants in the procurement process shall maintain the confidentiality of all other supplier and bidding information.” Participants include the Procurement Administrator, the Procurement Monitor, the Commission, and the Illinois Power Agency. As further provided for in that section, any such confidential information “shall not be made publicly available and shall not be discoverable by any party in any proceeding, absent a compelling demonstration of need.”

Projects with winning Bids approved by the Commission will be assessed a Supplier Fee per REC that reflects the cost of administering the procurement event less the total of the Bid Participation Fees. The exact amount of the Supplier Fee per REC will be announced no later than two (2) business days before the Bid Date. Payment of the Supplier Fees to the IPA by the Bidder or Seller will be due within seven (7) business days after Commission approval of the Bids.

To the extent that information about the Project and the Seller has not changed, approved documentation provided in the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP (“BUS RFP”) can be re-submitted by the Bidder in its Part 1 Proposal in the Brownfield RFP. Prior to the Part 1 Date, a Bidder may contact the Procurement Administrator by email at Illinois-RFP@nera.com to request a courtesy review to determine if a particular document approved in the BUS RFP is still appropriate.

That is correct. No RECs were procured from brownfield site photovoltaic projects in the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP or in any of the procurement events held under the 2017-2018 Initial Forward procurements. Thus, the average winning prices provided in the results postings are applicable to Utility-Scale Solar Projects only. Please note that the winning price posted for the Wind and Solar RFP also includes winning RECs from Utility-Scale Wind Projects in the average.

There are no set-asides.

The evaluation procedure is provided in Paragraph IV.2.10 of the RFP Rules and proceeds in several steps. The evaluation first eliminates Bids that fail to meet or beat the benchmarks. Second, Bids that meet or beat the benchmarks are ranked in order of price per REC. Third, the selection of Bids proceeds as follows. The lowest‐priced Project is selected. If the Target is not yet met by the quantity for the lowest‐priced Project, the number of RECs not yet assigned, the “remaining Target,” is calculated. The next lowest‐priced Project is considered. The next lowest‐priced Project is selected if the partial award quantity for such Project does not exceed the remaining Target. The quantity selected for such Project is the full quantity or the remaining Target, whichever is lower. If, after considering this Project, the Target is still not yet met, the next lowest‐priced Project is considered. This process continues (considering whether the partial award quantity for the Project can be selected without exceeding the remaining Target) until all Bids that have met or beat the benchmarks have been considered, or until the Target is met, whichever comes first. The Projects selected are those for which the quantities bid are used to fill the Target, in whole or in part.

It is the responsibility of Bidders to review the REC Contract and to evaluate with legal counsel whether any particular event falls within Force Majeure.

On June 13, 2019, the Procurement Administrator posted the inserts to the online Part 1 and Part 2 Forms to the Final Materials page of the Brownfield section of the procurement website under the heading “Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP Documents”.

The Procurement Administrator has posted the presentation slides and audio recording from the bidder information webcast held on June 13, 2019, to the Final Materials page of the Brownfield section of the procurement website.

On June 13, 2019, the Procurement Administrator posted an Illustrative Part 1 Form to the Final Materials page of the Brownfield section of the procurement website under the heading “Summer 2019 Brownfield RFP Documents”.

Information submitted in the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP has not been retained in the online Part 1 Form.  A Bidder that requires a specific document that the Bidder submitted under the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP and to which the Bidder no longer has access may contact the Procurement Administrator.

As a Bidder with a brownfield project that qualified under a previous procurement event under the Wind and Solar RFP, the New Solar RFP, or the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP, you will receive access to the Part 1 Form opening on Thursday, June 13, 2019 for the Brownfield Site Photovoltaic RFP.  You can use the same login credentials that you have used previously. If you are unsure whether you still have your login credentials, or if you are presenting additional projects, please contact the Procurement Administrator.

Yes. Each participant is required to pay a non‐refundable Bid Participation Fee of $500 as a condition of completing the Part 1 Proposal to the extent that such participant has not already paid a bid participation fee pursuant to its participation in a 2019 procurement event.

Please contact the Procurement Administrator for complete instructions for payment of the bid participation fee.

The Procurement Administrator issued the draft Brownfield REC Contract on May 23, 2019. A redline of this draft to the final REC contract under the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP was also posted at that time. In addition to several clarifications, the changes were to make the contract only applicable to new photovoltaic projects that are built on brownfield sites, to incorporate additional force majeure events to Article 6, and to remove fax as a delivery method for notices and other correspondence. Please review the documents posted for complete details.

Preliminary Proposal documents will be posted by June 3 and the final RFP documents will be posted by June 13, 2019. The Procurement Administrator will hold a webcast on June 13 and will discuss any changes from the prior procurement events. The documents will be posted to the dedicated Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Procurement page of the procurement website.

If you have not done so already, please RSVP for the webcast.

The online Part 1 Form will become available no later than the morning of June 13, 2019, which is the opening of the Part 1 Window. The schedule for the Brownfield Site Photovoltaic Procurement, including the dates applicable to the Part 1 Window is posted to the Calendar page of the procurement website.

July 26 is the date strictly for the submission of Bids.  To be eligible to submit Bids, a supplier must have met the qualification standards through the submission of a successful Part 1 Proposal (due June 20, 2019) and must have met all other requirements of the Part 2 Proposal (due July 12, 2019).

Proposals are submitted online.  To request login credentials for the submission of proposals, please register here:  https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/contact-us/qualification-registration/

The results pertaining to procurement of RECs from Utility-Scale Solar projects can be found at the following links:

Fall 2017 Wind and Solar RFP: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/?wpfb_dl=1612

Spring 2018 New Solar RFP: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/?wpfb_dl=1611 and https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/?wpfb_dl=1629

Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/?wpfb_dl=1830

While the Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“Plan”) does not have specific provisions for this contingency, the IPA is currently considering options related to a potential subsequent procurement.

The results of the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP were released in accordance with the Section 15-111.5(h) of the Public Utilities Act and Prior Commission Orders and no other information will be made public.

Each bid in the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP consists of a) a proposed quantity of RECs to be delivered annually from the project (based on the project’s nameplate capacity) as well as b) a price to be paid to the Seller for each REC delivered.  Given that the two project types are subject to separate statutory definitions and separate procurement targets under the law, brownfield site photovoltaic projects and utility scale photovoltaic projects were evaluated independently from each other.

For competitive procurement events (such as the brownfield site and utility-scale photovoltaic procurement) Section 1-75(c)(1)(D) of the IPA Act requires that proposed REC prices cannot exceed benchmarks based on market prices or other publicly available data for the region.  Benchmarks are established by the Procurement Administrator, in consultation with the IPA, the Procurement Monitor, and the Staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and are subject to the review and approval of the Commission.  Benchmark prices are specific to each category of product being procured, and to protect the integrity of the IPA’s competitive procurement processes, all aspects of the benchmark development process (including the resulting benchmark prices) are treated as confidential.

Consequently, each bid submitted must first meet or beat the benchmark price applicable to that category before proceeding to evaluation.  Bids not exceeding the benchmark price for that category are then ranked in order of price per REC, starting with the lowest price, until the annual REC delivery target for that category is met or until all bids that meet or beat the benchmark price have been ranked.  These bids are selected and identified by the Procurement Administrator to the Commission as winning bids.

No, it is not required to update the site description provided with the Proposal in the future. With each REC delivery, the Seller will be required to represent that at least 50% of the Project is located within the physical location identified in the Proposal.

If the Commission approves the Bid for a Project, the Procurement Administrator allocates the quantity of RECs selected by the evaluation procedure to each Company (29.33% to AIC, 70.34% to ComEd, and 0.33% to MEC, subject to rounding).

If the Commission approves the Bid for a Project, the Procurement Administrator allocates the quantity of RECs selected by the evaluation procedure to each Company. The beneficiary information for each Company for the post-bid letter of credit is provided below:

Managing Supervisor
Credit Risk Management
Attention: Tim Moloney
Ameren Services
1901 Chouteau Avenue, MC 960
St. Louis, MO 63103
(telephone: 314.613.9139)

Scott Vogt
Vice President, Energy Acquisition
Commonwealth Edison Company
1919 Swift Drive
Oak Brook, IL 60523-1502
(telephone: 630.684.3558)

Christy Harger
Director, Risk Management Finance/Accounting
MidAmerican Energy Company
4299 NW Urbandale Drive
Urbandale, IA 50322
(telephone: 515.281.2773)

Yes, it is acceptable to first post cash and then replace the cash with a letter of credit at a later point.

No. Under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale RFP, each Company initiates the return of the posted cash, for a Seller that has a Project with an approved Bid, once: (1) you have fully executed the REC Contract and provided any required Performance Assurance; (2) you have paid the Supplier Fee to the IPA; and (3) the Company has received an acceptable executed request for the return of cash on the letterhead of the entity to which cash is returned and for which a W‐9 is provided.

No, this is not acceptable. For a Project, a Bid includes one (1) price per REC for one (1) annual quantity of RECs that the Seller is offering to deliver under the terms of the REC Contract between the Company and the Seller.

A Bidder may, in its Part 1 Proposal, provide comments on or propose modifications to the Post-Bid Letter of Credit drawn for the benefit of a Company. The Part 1 Window has closed, and the documents provided on November 12, 2018 will not be reviewed. The final lists of acceptable modifications to the Post-Bid Letter of Credit (Option 1) and the Post-Bid Letter of Credit (Option 2) are available on the Final Materials page of the designated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar section of the procurement website.

The Seller named in the Part 1 Proposal must be the counterparty to all three (3) Companies for delivery of RECs from the Project.
Assignments are possible under the REC Contract. Generally, the Seller may not assign the REC Contract without the prior written consent of the Buyer, which shall not be unreasonably withheld. However, consent of the Buyer is not required for transfer or assignment to an Affiliate of the Seller if the Affiliate’s creditworthiness is equal to or higher than that of the Seller on the Effective Date. The full conditions under which an assignment can occur are provided in Section 9.2, as amended on the cover sheet (page 18 of the REC Contract as posted on October 15, 2018).

That is correct. Any RECs generated by the Project in excess of the Delivery Year Requirement in any delivery year during the delivery term can be “banked”, i.e., delivered during any subsequent delivery year to satisfy such subsequent Delivery Year Requirement.

The response depends not only on Illinois law but also on the use to which the third party puts the RECs and thus the question cannot be answered in the abstract. For example, the third party could use the RECs for compliance with renewable portfolio standards in another state that limits the vintage of RECs that can be used (even if no such limitations exist for satisfying the renewable portfolio standards in Illinois at present).

That is correct. Any RECs generated by the Project in excess of the Delivery Year Requirement in any delivery year during the delivery term are the exclusive property of Seller, to be utilized in Seller’s sole discretion.

No, the Officer of the Seller whose contact information is provided in the Part 1 Proposal must make all representations required in the Part 1 Proposal and in the Part 2 Proposal for a Project.

If the Officer of the Seller named in the Part 1 Proposal is no longer available, the Bidder may name a new Officer of the Seller. This new Officer of the Seller must make all representations required in the Part 2 Proposal and must make all representations required in the Part 1 Proposal also. Thus the Bidder would be required, in its Part 2 Proposal, to re-submit the following materials from the Part 1 Proposal:

• the name, title, and full contact information (address, phone number(s), and e-mail address) of the Officer of the Seller by email to Illinois-RFP@nera.com or in Section 6. Justification of Omissions in the online Part 2 form;
• the P1 Project Certifications Insert (#P1-4) signed by the newly named Officer of the Seller by email to Illinois-RFP@nera.com or upload to Section 6. Justification of Omissions in the online Part 2 form; and
• the P1 Seller Certifications Insert (#P1-5) signed by the newly named Officer of the Seller by email to Illinois-RFP@nera.com or upload to Section 6. Justification of Omissions in the online Part 2 form.

The Pre-Bid Letters of Credit under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP expire as part of the terms on December 21, 2018, seventeen business days after the Bid Date. All bid assurance collateral remains in place until the Commission has rendered a decision on the results of the procurement event. After that time, you may submit an amendment to each of the Companies to change the expiration date.

The Procurement Administrator will notify the Bidder when bid assurance collateral is received.

If possible, please include a note with the name of the Bidder in the wire transfer to help ensure that the Procurement Administrator recognizes that the Bidder has satisfied the bid assurance collateral requirements. We also remind you that if the “other entity” is also the entity to which cash will be returned, then any draft requests for the return of cash should be on the other entity’s letterhead.

Yes. The IPA understands that the provision in Section 1-75(c)(1)(J) of the Act which states “renewable energy credits shall not be eligible to be counted toward the renewable energy requirements of this subsection (c) if they are sourced from a generating unit whose costs were being recovered through rates regulated by this State or any other state or states on or after January 1, 2017” was generally intended to ensure that facilities owned by a vertically integrated utility, for which REC revenues may be incidental to building and financing the facility, would not be eligible. The IPA states in its Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan that “the Agency believes that being a Qualifying Facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (“PURPA”) (and also meeting the other aspects of the requirements of the Illinois RPS), would not be disqualifying because the Qualifying Facility does not directly recover its costs through rates; rather, it is compensated for its energy at the purchasing utility’s avoided cost rate.”

Please consult Section 4.2 of the IPA’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Plan for an interpretation of this section of the Act and for the manner in which the IPA intends to establish whether a facility’s cost is or is not recovered through rates regulated by a state.

Yes. A Seller that is not eligible for unsecured credit under the REC Contract, and is not relying on the financial standing of a Guarantor, must post Performance Assurance in the form of a letter of credit or cash.

This is possible. If the Companies determine that the entity meets the minimum ratings necessary (BBB- from S&P, Baa3 from Moody’s, BBB- from Fitch) to serve as a Guarantor under the terms of the REC Contract, a guaranty may be executed at that time.

No, an extension is not possible. A Bidder must submit its Part 2 Proposal including bid assurance collateral, (but excluding Bids), by 12 PM (noon) on the Part 2 Date, which is November 14, 2018. Information and documents required by the Part 2 Proposal must be provided through the online Part 2 Form and bid assurance collateral must be submitted directly to each Company.

If on the Part 2 Date, a bidder submits information and documents through the online Part 2 form, but does not provide the bid assurance collateral, the Part 2 Proposal (excluding Bids) is deficient. The Procurement Administrator will send a first deficiency notice to the Bidder. The Bidder will have until 6 PM on the second business day following the business day during which a first deficiency notice is sent to the Bidder to respond.

The size of the Project as provided in your Part 1 Proposal cannot be revised at the Part 2 Proposal stage.  The amount of bid assurance collateral due is proportional to the size of the Project provided in your Part 1 Proposal and if you provide a lesser amount, your Proposal will be deficient and you may be unable to submit Bids.

Please note, however, that a Bidder does not commit to a MW size of the Project through its Proposal; rather, a Bidder commits in its Bid to delivering a given annual quantity under the terms of the REC Contract.

The RFP Documents and the REC Contract are posted to the Final Materials page of the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Procurement page of the procurement website here:

https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/brownfield-and-utility-scale-solar/

The IPA understands that the provision in Section 1-75(c)(1)(J) of the Act which states “renewable energy credits shall not be eligible to be counted toward the renewable energy requirements of this subsection (c) if they are sourced from a generating unit whose costs were being recovered through rates regulated by this State or any other state or states on or after January 1, 2017” was generally intended to ensure that facilities owned by a vertically integrated utility, for which REC revenues may be incidental to building and financing the facility, would not be eligible. The IPA states in its Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan that “the Agency believes that being a Qualifying Facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (“PURPA”) (and also meeting the other aspects of the requirements of the Illinois RPS), would not be disqualifying because the Qualifying Facility does not directly recover its costs through rates; rather, it is compensated for its energy at the purchasing utility’s avoided cost rate.”

Please consult Section 4.2 of the IPA’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Plan for an interpretation of this section of the Act and for the manner in which the IPA intends to establish whether a facility’s cost is or is not recovered through rates regulated by a state.

The Date of First Operation is information that is required in the Part 1 Proposal as part of the information about the Project, along with information about site control and milestones achieved. The Date of First Operation appears in the REC Contract in that a Project must be “new” and thus it must be that its Date of First Operation did not occur on or before June 1, 2017. Assuming that the Project is new, deadlines for the Project under the REC Contract to become operational are deadlines for the first REC Delivery.

You are incorrectly assuming that if the Seller posts sufficient additional Performance Assurance, then the Seller will have the option to deliver the first REC on May 31, 2022 and this is when the Delivery Term will start. The Delivery Term starts on the date that the first REC is issued by PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS. If the Seller posts sufficient Performance Assurance to satisfy the Increased Collateral Requirement, and the Project becomes operational in March 2022, then the Delivery Term starts once the first REC is issued thereafter. Please see Section 1.22.2 of the Master REC Agreement.

Bidder Training is done online and over the phone, and not done in-person.  The Bidder Training consists of time set aside for Bidders to practice completing and submitting their Bid Forms.  The Procurement Administrator is available at that time to evaluate the Bid Forms and to answer questions.

The schedule for Bidder Training is provided in the attachment entitled “4 Invitation to Bidder Training” provided to you with your Part 1 Notification. Instructions for completing and submitting the Bid Form are provided in “2 Bid Form Guide”, also provided as an attachment to your Part 1 Notification. Finally, you must use the confidential information provided in the attachment 3a (with the yellow border) for access to the secure file transfer interface that you will use to submit your Bids.

The payment cap referenced in Section 3(i) of the Coversheet is found in Section 2.2 of the Master REC Agreement as modified in the Coversheet. This payment cap is a cumulative amount of payment that Buyer may not exceed under the contract and is equal to the product of the Purchase Price and the Maximum Contract Quantity, plus interest on late payments.

The redline will be posted to the Final Materials page of the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar section of the procurement website by close of business on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.

Yes. The circumstance of a Bidder not submitting a Bid is not a reason for drawing on bid assurance collateral or for bid assurance collateral not to be returned. There is no penalty for not submitting a Bid.

Bid Assurance Collateral is submitted with the Part 2 Proposal, which is due on the Part 2 Date. The Part 2 Date for the upcoming Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar procurement events is November 14, 2018.

The Collateral Requirement is posted only if a Project has a winning Bid that is approved by the Commission. The Collateral Requirement in the form of a Post-Bid Letter of Credit (provided as Exhibit C) or cash is posted upon contract execution. The collateral requirement under the REC Contract is $10 times the Annual Quantity and is subject to a minimum of $50,000. Please note that under the REC Contract, a Project must deliver at least one REC to each Company on or before May 31, 2021 unless such deadline is extended to May 31, 2022 by the Seller opting to meet an increased collateral requirement. Additional information is available in the REC Contract.

A Word version of the Final REC Contract posted on October 15, 2018 is not available. The Final REC Contract is posted as a pdf on the Final Materials page of the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar section of the procurement website here: https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/?wpfb_dl=1796

Please direct all questions regarding your Pre-Bid Letters of Credit to the Procurement Administrator via the Contact Us page or by email to Illinois-RFP@nera.com. While the Pre-Bid Letters of Credit must be sent directly to each Company, the Procurement Administrator will communicate with the bidder on behalf of the Companies regarding the acceptability of the Pre-Bid Letters of Credit.

The bid assurance collateral due with the Part 2 Proposal is the same regardless of the expected Date of First Operation of the Project.  The option to satisfy an increased collateral requirement to extend the REC Delivery Deadline to May 31, 2022 only applies during the term of the REC Contract.

No, the Performance Assurance will not be forfeited in that case.

The REC Contract with a Company will be terminated and the Performance Assurance is forfeited if: (a) you fail to meet the Delivery Year Requirement in any 3 or more Delivery Years, and (b) the amount of shortfalls equals or exceeds the Annual Quantity.

Please note that the “3 or more Delivery Years” need not be consecutive; and the Delivery Year Requirement in the first 365 days under the REC Contract is 50% of the Annual Quantity.

Under the REC Contract, the Collateral Requirement is $10 times the Annual Quantity and is subject to a minimum of $50,000. The Increased Collateral Requirement is $20 times the Annual Quantity and is subject to a minimum of $100,000. In effect, should the Seller elect to extend the REC Delivery Deadline from May 31, 2021 to May 31, 2022, the Seller must post double the amount.

For a Project that is not yet operational, the Long-Term Procurement Plan states:

“In the case of a new adjacent-state facility that is not yet operational (and thus also not registered in GATS or M-RETS), an owner may submit a request for determination of eligibility based upon the planned design of the facility. Such a submittal must also include documentation from the applicable RTO (or utility for distributed resources) that the facility has entered the interconnection queue and is actively pursuing an interconnection agreement. If the Agency determines that the planned facility does meet the public interest criteria, then it will grant a pre-approval of the eligibility. It will be the responsibility of the facility owner to notify the IPA and the tracking system once the facility is operational to request being coded as eligible for the Illinois RPS in the applicable tracking system. The Agency will review final system information to verify consistency with the information submitted for the pre-approval.”

Thus, for a Project that is not yet operational, there are two steps: a first step for pre-approval before the project is operational, and then a review by the IPA in a second step once the Project is operational AND registered in a tracking system to confirm eligibility.  In the second step, the IPA will verify consistency of the information submitted for pre-approval with the information provided through the tracking system upon registration of the system.

If a Project is operational and registered in a tracking system, and if such a Project is presented in a Proposal to the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP (“RFP”), then the Project should provide with the Part 1 Proposal confirmation of its eligibility status for the Illinois RPS from the second step.  If the Project is not yet registered in GATS or M-RETS, the Project is between the first step and the second step.  If such a Project is presented in a Proposal to the RFP, the Bidder should explain that pre-approval was obtained, that the Project is not registered in a tracking system, and thus that final eligibility for the Illinois RPS has not yet been determined.  While such a Project may participate in the RFP, please note that any risk associated with the IPA not being able to confirm the Project’s eligibility for the Illinois RPS is entirely borne by the Bidder.

Please note that the Bidder is the entity submitting the Proposal while the Seller is the entity that would be executing the REC Contracts if the Project is selected and approved by the Commission. A Bidder may submit multiple Projects and these Projects can have the same or different Sellers. Please also note that a Project for purposes of the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP has or will have a single revenue quality meter that satisfies the requirements of the applicable regional transmission organization, transmission provider, or distribution company, and that measures or will measure its generation output.  Thus, for each Project presented in a separate Proposal must be separately metered and have its own account in PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS. If the Projects are co-located there may be additional requirements in terms of site control documentation.

There are no provisions in the REC Contract to accommodate a partial assignment. Also, the quantity of RECs included in the Bid for a Project represents the annual quantity to be delivered in each delivery year under the terms of the REC Contract and cannot be changed at a later date. Thus, it is not possible to assign a portion of the RECs to another entity under a separate REC Contract.

Under this RFP, sites for which the last available documentation for the brownfield site is older than 15 years would not fulfill the requirements for “brownfield site photovoltaic projects” under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP.

A goal of the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP is to support the development of brownfield sites within Illinois to help return blighted or contaminated land to productive use. As defined in the Public Act 99-0906 (“the Act”), brownfield site photovoltaic project means only photovoltaic projects that are: (1) interconnected to an electric utility, a municipal utility, a public utility, or an electric cooperative as defined by the Act; and (2) located at a site that is regulated by one of the entities and four programs listed in the Act.  To comply with this statutory language, the IPA proposed in draft guidelines that any documentation issued by or filed with the relevant authority must be dated no earlier than 15 years prior to the Bid Date, understanding that this requirement may exclude sites that have been fully remediated for a longer period while allowing participation from some sites that may no longer currently be regulated by one of the entities under the Act’s four delineated programs. An invitation to comment on the “Draft Brownfield Site PV Guidelines”, including this timing requirement, was issued on September 17, 2018 and an announcement was sent to website registrants. As the comments received did not provide a clear direction or alternative to these draft guidelines, this 15-year requirement was maintained for the RFP Rules.

While the parameters used in this RFP could potentially change for any future brownfield site procurements, under the current Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP, Projects without documentation within the last 15 years cannot meet the qualification standards for brownfield site photovoltaic projects.  However, please be aware that any such Project, if it is greater than 2 MW in size, may meet the requirements for a utility-scale solar project under this RFP.

Yes, please provide a statement to that effect in Section 7. Justification of Omission in the online Part 1 Form so that the Procurement Administrator can confirm the Project has obtained pre-approval with the Illinois Power Agency. No other action is required in this regard.

The answer depends on if the Bidder has changed. Should you present one or more projects under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP and the Bidder is unchanged, you are not required to pay the Bid Participation Fee in this RFP. If the Bidder changed since the prior 2018 procurement event, however, you will be required to pay the Bid Participation Fee again in this RFP.

Under the REC Contract, a Project must deliver at least one REC to each Company on or before May 31, 2021 unless such deadline is extended to May 31, 2022 by the Seller opting to meet an increased collateral requirement.

The Date of First Operation is information that is required in the Part 1 Proposal as part of the information about the Project, along with information about site control and milestones achieved. The Date of First Operation provided in the Part 1 Proposal is required to be March 30, 2022 or before. As you point out, this requirement was set recognizing that the Seller may post increased collateral requirement to extend the deadline for first REC delivery to May 31, 2022, and accounting for the required time for RECs to be produced according to PJM EIS GATS and M-RETS procedures.

As a requirement of the Part 1 Proposal under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP, the Bidder must submit appropriate documentation, dated no earlier than 15 years prior to the Bid Date, to demonstrate that the site is regulated by one of the following four Programs: (i) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), as amended; or (ii) the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Corrective Action Program of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), as amended; or (iii) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Solid Waste Program (“IEPA Solid Waste Program”); or (iv) the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency under the Illinois Site Remediation Program (“IEPA Site Remediation Program”).

The Bidder must submit appropriate documentation, dated no earlier than 15 years prior to the Bid Date.  The following documentation is sufficient:  (i) for CERCLA, a site assessment, remedy decision, cleanup plan, or similar document; (ii) for RCRA, a demonstration of the U.S. EPA requiring corrective action such as a permit application, administrative order, court order, or equivalent document; (iii) for the IEPA Solid Waste Program, a solid waste permit; and (iv) for the IEPA Site Remediation Program, a Site Investigation Report, or a Remedial Action Plan, or a Remedial Action Completion Report, or a No Further Remediation Letter.  Additional requirements apply to sites regulated by the IEPA Site Remediation Program.

The Procurement Administrator will consider other forms of documentation provided by the Bidder to demonstrate regulation under the above Programs; however, such documentation must also be dated no earlier than 15 years prior to the Bid Date.  Ultimately, if your Project does not satisfy the requirements for brownfield sites under this RFP, but your Project size is more than 2 MW (AC rating), then you may choose to participate as a utility-scale solar project instead.  The RFP Rules provide the differences in the requirements between the two Categories of Projects (brownfield site photovoltaic versus utility-scale solar).  Please note that Bids for the two Categories of Projects are evaluated separately; this implies that if you choose to participate as a utility-scale solar project, the price in your Bid will compete against the prices submitted by other utility-scale solar projects.

If the Bidder changed since the prior 2018 procurement event you will be required to pay the Bid Participation Fee again in this RFP even if the Legal Name of Seller remains the same. If the Bidder is presenting Proposals for multiple Projects under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP, the Bidder is only required to pay a single Bid Participation Fee no matter how many Sellers are named.

There may be a period in December when both the Pre-Bid and Post-Bid Letters of Credit are in place at the same time. The Pre-Bid Letter of Credit under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP expires as part of its terms on December 21, 2018, seventeen business days after the Bid Date.

If a Seller has a Project with approved Bids, by 12 PM CPT (noon) on the first business day after the ICC decision (December 5, 2018), each Company prepares and sends a partially executed electronic copy of the REC Contract and related documents to the Seller. By 12 PM CPT (1 PM Eastern Prevailing Time) on the next business day, the Seller executes the signature pages of the partially executed REC Contracts and related documents and sends such fully executed signature pages to the Company electronically.

Under the REC Contract, the Performance Assurance is due within five (5) business days of a request from the Company.  Such a request can be issued at the start of the formalities for the execution of the REC Contract.  If Seller fails to provide Performance Assurance within 5 business days of this request, an event of default shall be deemed to have occurred.

The amount of bid assurance collateral required for a Project is determined separately for each Company and is the same whether the Bidder submits cash or a letter of credit to each of AIC, ComEd, and MEC.

• The amount of bid assurance collateral required for AIC is $5,500/MW and need not exceed $5,500,000 across all Utility-Scale Solar Projects presented by a Bidder or $275,000 across all brownfield site photovoltaic Projects presented by a Bidder.
• The amount of bid assurance collateral required for ComEd is $13,000/MW and need not exceed $13,000,000 across all Utility-Scale Solar Projects presented by a Bidder or $650,000 across all brownfield site photovoltaic Projects presented by a Bidder.
• The amount of bid assurance collateral required for MEC is $1,000/MW and need not exceed $1,000,000 across all Utility-Scale Solar Projects presented by a Bidder or $50,000 across all brownfield site photovoltaic Projects presented by a Bidder.

Additional information on bid assurance collateral, including the required amounts, is provided in Section V.2. Bid Assurance Collateral in the RFP Rules.

The collateral requirement under the REC Contract is $10 times the Annual Quantity and is subject to a minimum of $50,000. Please note that under the REC Contract, a Project must deliver at least one REC to each Company on or before May 31, 2021 unless such deadline is extended to May 31, 2022 by the Seller opting to meet an increased collateral requirement. Additional information is available in the REC Contract.

A Bidder must submit bid assurance collateral for the Project in the form of cash or a letter of credit to each of AIC, ComEd, and MEC no matter where it is located.

The RFP Documents are available on the Final Materials page of the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP page of the procurement website here. You do not need a password to access the RFP documents.

An unrated Guarantor will have a Collateral Threshold of $0 and will not receive any unsecured credit under the Solar REC Contract. An unrated Guarantor may still post the required Performance Assurance as cash on behalf of the Seller.

Delivery instructions and addresses for each Company for purposes of submitting pre-bid letters of credit for bid assurance collateral are available from the Procurement Administrator upon request.  In regards to posting Performance Assurance under the REC Contract, each Company will reach out directly to Bidders with Projects that are selected through the RFP after the Illinois Commerce Commission renders its decision on the results.

Yes, generally if your Part 1 Proposal is incomplete or requires clarification, the Procurement Administrator will send a deficiency notice to the Bidder. If the permit provided is insufficient, the Procurement Administrator will provide an explanation and request additional information in that notice. A Bidder is generally given until the Part 1 Date or two (2) business days to respond to a first deficiency notice.

As stated in Article 6 of the Solar REC Contract, “Force Majeure may include delays in the establishment by the Project of an operating interconnection with the applicable transmission or distribution system as a result of the actions or inactions of the transmission or distribution provider, provided Seller can demonstrate to Buyer that such delay is not primarily attributable to Seller’s failure to make in a timely manner a formal request for interconnection to such transmission or distribution provider or to provide in a timely manner the information or payment required by such transmission or distribution provider.”  Each Bidder must assess and evaluate the term of the REC Contract.

Yes.  A Bidder does not commit to a MW size of the Project in the Proposal; a Bidder commits to delivering a given annual quantity under the terms of the REC Contract.

Please note that with each REC delivery, the Seller will be required to represent that at least 50% of the Project is located within the physical location identified as the Project site in the Proposal.

Yes, if a Bidder posts bid assurance collateral and the Projects is not selected, the full amount of the bid assurance collateral will be returned within the timeframes provided in the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP.

A Bidder must submit bid assurance collateral for the Project in the form of cash or a letter of credit to each of AIC, ComEd, and MEC. For a 10 MW Project, a Bidder is required to submit $55,000 (10 x $5,500) to AIC, $130,000 (10 x $13,000) to ComEd, and $10,000 (10 x $1,000) to MEC. Payment must be made to each of the three Companies separately.

A solid waste permit is appropriate documentation to demonstrate that the site is regulated by the IEPA Solid Waste Program. The documentation must be dated no earlier than 15 years prior to the Bid Date. The Procurement Administrator will evaluate the permit and its consistency with the RFP Rules during its review of your Part 1 Proposal.

Yes, if the Bidder is presenting a Proposal for a single Project, the Bidder and the Seller must be the same entity.  In this case, if the Seller is a special purpose entity, then the Bidder must be identified as this special purpose entity as well.

It is not a requirement for the Seller to be rated. It is not a requirement for the Seller to have a Guarantor. A Project that has a Seller that is not rated and that does not have a rated Guarantor will not be required to provide financial information in the Part 1 Proposal.

No, the quantity of RECs included in the Bid represents the annual quantity to be delivered in each delivery year under the terms of the REC Contract and cannot be changed at a later date.

It is an event of default under the contract if: (i) Seller fails to meet the Delivery Year Requirement for three (3) or more years, AND (ii) the Shortfall Amounts (as the term is defined in the REC Contract) cumulatively equals or exceeds the annual quantity. Both conditions must be triggered for such event of default to occur. If the Shortfall Amounts are less than the Annual Quantity, there is no event of default.  However, payment to the Seller is based on the RECs delivered, so shortfalls would lead to missed revenue under the REC Contract.

The Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP and the Adjustable Block Program have separate rules and requirements with no overlap. Currently, there are no requirements that would prohibit this.

A Project for purposes of the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP has or will have a single revenue quality meter that satisfies the requirements of the applicable regional transmission organization, transmission provider, or distribution company, and that measures or will measure its generation output.  Thus, for each Project to be presented in a separate Proposal, each Project would need to be separately metered and have two accounts registered in PJM EIS GATS or M-RETS.

Assuming both Projects are separate in that sense, both Projects could be presented through the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar; such co-location may lead to additional requirements in terms of site control documentation.

No, the quantity of RECs included in the bid represents a fixed quantity to be delivered in each delivery year under the terms of the REC Contract. There are provisions in the Solar REC Contract that allow the Seller to bank RECs at the beginning of the contract to be delivered at the end of the term.

The Illinois Power Agency does not have any procurements for utility-scale solar planned for 2019.  However, there may be future procurements planned for 2020, which would be proposed as part of the IPA’s next Long-Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan.

One objective of the bid assurance collateral is for the bidder to show that the bidder will be able to meet the Collateral Requirement under the REC Contract. Not meeting the Collateral Requirement would lead to supplier default, termination of the REC Contract, and failure of the procurement event to procure the number of RECs intended.

The Collateral Requirement under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP increased for two reasons.  First, there was an increase in the Collateral Requirement under the REC Contract and the increase in bid assurance collateral is consistent with this fact.  Second, the target of 2,000,000 RECs is substantially larger than the target under the New Solar RFP and thus the maximum amounts have increased to be consistent with the higher Collateral Requirement that could be due under the REC Contract.

Yes. The Procurement Administrator has posted the presentation slides and audio recording from the bidder information webcast held on October 17, 2018 to the Final Materials page of the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar section of the procurement website.

The Part 1 Notification is sent to Bidders no later than a specified date, Monday, November 5, 2018, and this date does not depend on when the Part 1 Proposal was submitted. As part of the review process of the Part 1 Proposal, the Procurement Administrator will send a notice to you when the Part 1 Proposal is complete and being considered, which could occur much earlier than the date specified for the Part 1 Notification.

On August 30, 2018, the Procurement Administrator posted Appendix 4 – Minimum Requirements for Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Understanding, or Other Document to the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Draft Documents page. This document lists the documentation that may be used to fulfill this requirement and the minimum requirements should a Seller or Bidder choose to develop its own document that meets its business needs. Additional information will be provided in the RFP Documents, which will posted no later than Tuesday, October 16, 2018.

The RFP Documents for the Fall 2018 Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP are expected to be posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. We take note of your request and the Procurement Administrator will endeavor to provide participants an early release information that includes the amount of bid assurance collateral.

If you qualified a solar or brownfield project in a prior procurement event, all accounts provided to you under Wind and Solar RFP and/or the New Solar RFP remain valid.  If you are presenting a Project to the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP that you presented in a prior procurement event using a particular account, we encourage you to use the same account for presenting this Project again in the upcoming RFP.  The accounts previously issued to you will be unlocked for your use prior to Thursday, October 18, 2018, the date of the opening of the Part 1 Window for the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP.

You will receive an email from the Procurement Administrator prior to Thursday, October 18, 2018 inquiring whether you still have your login credentials or whether you need these re-issued.  If you are presenting additional Projects, please let us know so that we may issue additional accounts to you.

The Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Procurement seeks to procure 2 million RECs delivered annually from new utility-scale solar projects (projects over 2 MW); and 80,000 RECs delivered annually from new brownfield site photovoltaic projects. There is no size requirement related to brownfield site photovoltaic projects.

For information pertaining to the Adjustable Block Program proposed as part of the Illinois Power Agency’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan (“LTRRPP”), please visit the IPA’s website: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/ipa/Pages/Renewable_Resources.aspx

Participation in the comment process for the draft Solar REC Contract is optional. An entity that does not submit comments is not ineligible to participate in the procurement events under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP for that reason.

Monday, July 23, 2018 is the deadline to submit comments on the draft Solar REC Contract for the procurement events under the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP. This draft Solar REC Contract is proposed to be the standard contract form between each winning supplier and Ameren Illinois Company, Commonwealth Edison Company or MidAmerican Energy Company. An executed version of the REC Contract is not due at this time.

The draft Solar REC Contract and the Invitation to Comment, which includes a description of the timeline and process for providing comments, are available on the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP page here:

https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/brownfield-and-utility-scale-solar/draft-documents/

The Procurement Administrator posted the draft REC Contract along with an invitation to submit comments on Friday, July 13, 2018 to the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Procurement page of the procurement website here:

https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/brownfield-and-utility-scale-solar/

The Procurement Administrator will post preliminary proposal documents by Thursday, August 30, 2018 and will issue the RFP Documents by Tuesday, October 16, 2018. These documents will be posted to the same page.

If you have not done so already, please join our mailing list to receive updates and information by completing the automated form on the Register page. An announcement will be sent to the mailing list when the preliminary proposal documents and the RFP Documents have been issued.

Bid Assurance Collateral is submitted with the Part 2 Proposal, which is due on the Part 2 Date. The Part 2 Date for the upcoming Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar procurement events is November 14, 2018.

The Collateral Requirement is posted only if a Project has a winning Bid that is approved by the Commission. The Collateral Requirement is posted upon contract execution.

While these dates have been published on the Calendar page of the RFP website, the RFP Rules and other documents have not yet been posted. The RFP Documents will be issued on October 16, 2018 and a webcast, which will provide details on both the bid assurance collateral and credit requirements under the contract, will be held on October 17, 2018.

If you have not done so already, please join our mailing list to receive updates and information by completing the automated form on the Register page. An announcement will be sent to the mailing list when the webcast is announced and again when the RFP Documents have been issued.

The Procurement Administrator will post the draft REC Contract along with an invitation to submit comments on Friday, July 13, 2018.  The draft REC Contract will specify the collateral requirement and stakeholders may comment on any specific provisions.  If necessary, there will be an additional invitation to comment on the draft REC Contract as it applies to utility-scale solar projects and brownfield site photovoltaic projects later in the fall. The final REC Contract for the Utility-Scale Wind RFP will be posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2018, and the final REC Contract for the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar RFP will be posted on Monday, October 15, 2018.

If you have not done so already, please join our mailing list to receive updates and information by completing the automated form on the Register page. An announcement will be sent to the mailing list when the draft REC Contract and invitation to submit comments have been posted.

The Procurement Administrator released the results of the New Solar RFP in accordance with Section 16-111.5(h) of the Public Utilities Act and prior Commission Orders, and no additional information is available.

In its draft Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan, the Illinois Power Agency (“IPA”) proposed to hold a forward procurement for Brownfield Solar in 2018. This procurement was approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in its Final Order released on April 3, 2018. Unlike the Initial Forward Procurement, there is a quantity of 80,000 RECs set aside to be procured specifically from brownfield site photovoltaic projects. In previous events, there was no set aside quantity for brownfield site photovoltaic projects so that RECs from utility-scale solar projects and from brownfield site photovoltaic projects competed against each other.

The calendar for this procurement is available on the Calendar page of the procurement website:

https://ipa-energyrfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/IPA-2018-Brownfield-and-Utility-Scale-Solar-Calendar_24-MAY-2018.pdf

For additional information, please check the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Procurement page of the procurement website, which will be updated as more information becomes available:

https://www.ipa-energyrfp.com/brownfield-and-utility-scale-solar/

The RFP documents including the RFP Rules will be posted to the dedicated Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar Procurement page of the procurement website on October 15, 2018.

The calendar for the Brownfield and Utility-Scale Solar procurement events is now available on the Calendar page of the procurement website:

https://ipa-energyrfp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/IPA-2018-Brownfield-and-Utility-Scale-Solar-Calendar_24-MAY-2018.pdf

No, if a Bidder provided cash as bid assurance collateral under the New Solar RFP, such Bidder is required to provide fully executed requests for the return of cash to each Company. The return of cash is initiated by the Company on the date at which such executed request is received.

Any amendment to your Pre-Bid Letter of Credit should be provided directly to the Company.

Under the New Solar RFP, if a Project is not selected in either of the two procurement events, cash provided as bid assurance collateral will be returned as soon as practicable after the Commission decision on the second procurement event (assuming that the Company has received proper documentation from the Bidder). A Letter of Credit provided as bid assurance collateral will be left to expire as part of its terms.

Yes, if a Bidder provided cash as bid assurance collateral under the New Solar RFP, such Bidder is required to provide fully executed requests for the return of cash to each Company. The return of cash is initiated by the Company on the date at which such executed request is received.

Feedback regarding credit and collateral provisions, including the level of pre-bid collateral, is requested under Topic 2 in the IPA’s Request for Comments.

We are unable to tell exactly to which slide your question refers but we assume that you are referring to the structure of the proposal submission process (slide 20).  This submission process is generally the same across all procurement events held by the IPA.  There has been no change to this structure since the Initial Forward Procurements.

Proposal requirements, however, may change.  In particular, the IPA is seeking input on the level of pre-bid collateral and on an appropriate milestone to use to assess project maturity.  Feedback regarding the level of pre-bid collateral is requested under Topic 2 in the IPA’s Request for Comments and feedback regarding an appropriate assessment of project maturity is requested under Topic 4.

Under Public Act 099-0906 (“Act”), a utility-scale solar project meets the definition of “new photovoltaic projects” if it is energized after June 1, 2017.  This definition does not specify a “no later than” date. The Act defines “new wind projects” as wind renewable energy facilities that are energized after June 1, 2017 for the delivery year commencing June 1, 2017 or within 3 years after the date the Commission approves contracts for subsequent delivery years. The IPA provides its interpretation of these definitions in Section 2.4.2. of its draft Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan available here.

The Procurement Administrator will issue an invitation to submit comments on the draft REC Contract, expected on July 13, 2018.  The draft REC Contract will specify the delivery obligations and stakeholders may comment on any of these specific provisions.  If necessary, there will be an additional invitation to comment on the draft REC Contract as it applies to utility-scale solar project and brownfield site photovoltaic projects later in the fall.

For a utility-scale wind project to be considered “new”, as specified in the Act, it must be energized no later than three years after the Commission decision on the results of the procurement event for which the project is approved.  Thus this is not a fixed date but a date that will vary depending on the date of a specific procurement event.

Separately from this requirement, the IPA is currently seeking stakeholder input on the deadline for first REC delivery. The IPA’s Long-Term Renewable Resources Procurement Plan targets the 2020-2021 Delivery Year for first REC deliveries under the Forward Procurements, but does not indicate a specific date.  Feedback regarding the deadline for first REC delivery is requested under Topic 1 in the IPA’s Request for Comments.

Yes. Unlike the Initial Forward Procurement, there is a quantity of 80,000 RECs set aside to be procured specifically from brownfield site photovoltaic projects. In previous events, there was no set aside quantity for brownfield site photovoltaic projects so that RECs from utility-scale solar projects and from brownfield site photovoltaic projects competed against each other.

Additionally, in response to the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Final Order issued on April 3, 2018 (Docket 17-0838), the eligibility requirements for brownfield sites in the IEPA’s Site Remediation Program will change from the requirements under the Initial Forward Procurement. Bidders that present a project regulated under this program will be required to show that the site currently features or featured actual blight or contamination prior to remediation. The IPA is developing these additional requirements and seeks stakeholder input.

On June 15, the Illinois Power Agency posted a Request for Comments to its website here:

https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/ipa/Pages/RenewableResourcesWorkshops.aspx

Feedback regarding additional requirements for IEPA brownfield site eligibility is requested under Topic 5. Stakeholders are requested to send responses to this Request for Comments to Anthony.Star@illinois.gov by June 27, 2018.