FERC has granted a solar developer’s request for a 28-month extension of its commercial operation deadline, finding that it acted in good faith to develop the facility (ER23-2603).

Twelvemile Solar Energy requested the extension in August for its planned 100-MW solar farm in Oklahoma that will interconnect with the SPP system. It executed a generator interconnection agreement with SPP and Oklahoma Gas and Electric in January 2019, reflecting a December 2020 commercial operation date. That date was extended in January to this December because of schedule disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. trade restrictions on imported solar equipment.

The developer said the pandemic and trade action created a “constrained” market in which demand for utility-scale PV panels considerably exceeds available supply.

The GIA included a provision that it could be terminated should Twelvemile Solar fail to meet the commercial operation date for three consecutive years.

FERC said in an Oct. 19 ruling that the request meets the commission’s criteria for granting waivers: The developer acted in good faith to develop the facility in accordance with the GIA; the waiver was limited in scope and applied only to the deadline; it addressed a concrete problem; and granting it would not result in undesirable consequences.