Takeaways:
- Enel X cleared over 200 MW of capacity in the latest ISO-NE forward capacity auction (FCA), including 54 MW of generating capacity, representing 15% of total cleared new generation.
- For the first time, no new fossil-powered generation cleared in the auction – giving way to more cost-competitive DER, renewable, and/or storage resources. This marks a huge win for both Enel X and the broader renewable industry.
- Much of Enel X's cleared capacity is demand response – use our demand response calculator for a quick estimate of how much your organization could earn.
FCA 16 Results: A Step Forward for Solar and Storage
Every year, ISO-NE conducts an FCA to meet expected peak demand three years ahead. After many delays surrounding the termination of the Killingly Energy Center’s capacity obligation (a proposed 650 MW gas-fired plant), the auction for the 2025-2026 delivery period (FCA 16) was conducted on February 7, 2022. Clearing prices ranged from $2.531 kW-month (Maine) to $2.639 kW-month (Southeast New England).
In FCA 16, resources totaling 32,810 MW cleared in the auction, including 311 MW of new generating resources. Notably, 100% of the new generating resources were solar and/or storage resources. For the first time, no new fossil-powered generation cleared in the auction – giving way to more cost-competitive DER, renewable, and/or storage resources.
Enel X Clears 226 MW
Enel X cleared 226 MW in FCA 16, including 172 MW of demand response and 54 MW of generating resources (representing 15% of total cleared new generation). The new resources are all front-of-the-meter solar-plus-storage projects.
Among this year’s results, it’s especially noteworthy that new storage resources are becoming increasingly competitive. Last year, only large storage resources (150-250 MW each, summing up to 600 MW of total storage) cleared in FCA 15. This year, smaller-sized storage resources (<10 MW) cleared as well, demonstrating that storage’s cost-competitiveness persists across the spectrum of various project sizes.
Many of the solar and/or storage projects were supported by the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, which offers financial incentives to residential and commercial solar and storage projects. Enel X leveraged its long-standing expertise in the ISO-NE wholesale market to provide market-access services for these third-party owned projects, helping to increase the value these projects contribute to the grid and ratepayers.
Enel X is proud to be supporting these projects’ access the ISO-NE FCA, as they will provide a critical source of clean energy to the New England region for at least the next 20 years, creating a long-term source of decarbonized energy for businesses and residences.
Moving the Market Forward
With our headquarters in Boston, Enel X is proud to be part of the innovative New England energy market. We look forward to continuing to work with regional stakeholders to identify new opportunities for distributed energy resources.
If your business is interested in energy storage or demand response, please contact us to find out more about the available opportunities.
