A new Concentric Energy Advisors (Concentric) analysis shows that administratively determined solar and wind contract rates signed under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) exceed competitive market rates and do not reflect dramatic declines in the construction costs of solar and wind capacity. The Edison Electric Institute commissioned the study to better understand the relationship between the contract rates solar and wind qualifying facilities (QFs) receive under PURPA and recent market trends.
Concentric analyzed a sample of 708 solar and wind contracts representing approximately 8,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity that utilities in seven states signed with solar and wind QFs. Concentric found these contract rates consistently exceeded rates in competitively determined purchase power agreements (PPAs) for solar and wind energy executed in the same year. Concentric estimated that utilities and, in the end, customers overpaid between $150.7 million an
