Renewable energy projects larger than 10 megawatts (MW), also known as utility-scale projects, are complex and typically require private-sector financing. The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) developed a guide to help federal agencies, and the developers and financiers that work with them, to successfully install these projects at federal facilities. FEMP's Large-Scale Renewable Energy Guide provides a framework to allow the federal government, private developers, and financiers to work in a coordinated effort on large-scale renewable energy projects. The framework includes key elements of successful, financially attractive large-scale renewable energy projects.

The guide also offers recommendations to help federal agencies build strong business cases, define and mitigate risks, and establish good project characteristics. Federal projects that follow these guidelines will be more likely to engage the private sector to respond to competitive solicitations and invest in large-scale renewable energy projects.

In addition, the guide:

  • Provides recommendations to help align agencies and developers around a common goal of deploying significant amounts of large-scale renewable energy projects at federal facilities
  • Promotes common language to facilitate effective communication and support successful working relationships between developers and federal agencies
  • Lays out an established, repeatable, disciplined approach to commercial development and risk assessment while accommodating the unique requirements and constraints of each party
  • Offers an organizational framework, evaluation process, and sample resources for federal employees and others seeking to learn about private development methodologies.