The opening week of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (LADWP) new solar feed-in-tariff (FIT) program showed strong enthusiasm from customers and solar power developers, who submitted applications for 107 MW of potential solar projects, the utility says.
On Feb. 1, LADWP began accepting applications for the first 20 MW allocation of the 100 MW program, which is open to projects ranging in size from 30 kW to 3 MW. The applications submitted during the first five business days received their place on the FIT Review Priority List by a public lottery that occurred on Feb. 8.
Applications received after that date will be added to the queue in the order received. Projects will undergo review and technical screening in the order listed, LADWP explains.
"It is important to note that project submittal is the first step, and while not all of the proposed projects will be feasible, it is a tremendous response to the program," says Aram Benyamin, senior assistant general manager for power systems at LADWP. "We expect that, following the project review that will take place over the coming months, the first FIT projects will be on their way toward generating 20 MW of renewable solar energy for Los Angeles."
The applications submitted so far include 2 MW of capacity for 22 smaller solar projects ranging from 30 kW to 150 kW and 105 MW for 76 larger projects that range from 151 kW to 3 MW. These projects were dispersed throughout the city of Los Angeles, as well as the Owens Valley, where LADWP provides electrical service to several local communities.
