by Shane Henson — March 15, 2013—A resource that provides helpful guidance for federal agencies developing large-scale renewable energy projects was recently published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP).
Available as a PDF file, The Large-Scale Renewable Energy Guide: Developing Renewable Energy Projects Larger than 10 MWs at Federal Facilities provides a comprehensive framework including active project management strategies, common terms, and principles that reduce project uncertainties and promote partnerships between the federal government, private developers, and financiers, says the DOE. Improving coordination on large-scale renewable energy projects will help ensure successful projects while diversifying the nation’s energy supply, creating jobs, and advancing national goals for energy security.
The guide describes the fundamentals of deploying financially attractive, large-scale renewable energy projects and provides common terms and explanations to improve communication between government agencies and private developers as they navigate the project development and execution process. It also offers best practices to help federal agencies mitigate risks and demonstrate strong project characteristics for large-scale renewable energy installations.
The DOE says that federal project managers who use the guide to design and develop their projects will learn best practices for private-sector financing across a variety of funding options and competitive acquisition processes. The guide will also help commercial developers better understand federal energy planning and acquisition processes. Built on lessons learned from both the private sector and federal agencies, the guide shows how federal agencies can help attract project developers and private capital investment, while ensuring federal energy goals and requirements are met.
