DOE opens auction for 10 GW of solar and wind capacity

The Department of Energy (DOE) [link] announced that registration was open for qualified suppliers to bid on more than 10 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in the DOE’s next green energy auction, the GEA-4. This round will contain 20-year ground-mounted solar and onshore wind contracts for projects that are scheduled to begin commercial operations between 2026 and 2029. GEA-3, which was completed earlier this month, attracted more than 7.5 GW of bids for 6.0 GW of capacity. This auction is going to be the DoE’s largest to date.

MB bottom-line: These auctions are the lifeblood of our renewable energy industry, from the gargantuan powerhouses like Aboitiz Power [AP 38.15, down 0.9%] to the smaller upstarts, like Raslag [ASLAG 0.93, down 3.1%], Alternergy [ALTER 1.01 unch], and NexGen [XG 2.32 unch]. Interestingly, the DoE said that fixed-bottom offshore wind will be the focus of the next round of auctions (GEA-5), with those projects slated to come into commercial operation between 2028 and 2030. That might push some of XG’s plans back. In its prospectus, XG noted that it had up to 1,335 MW of onshore and offshore wind power projects in its pipeline, but 200 MW of that is in offshore wind projects that XG thought could be commercially operable by 2027. That timeline might be in jeopardy. 

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