Local Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Request for Information (Local RFI)

San Diego Community Power, a Community Choice Aggregation program serving approximately 1,000,000 service accounts across six municipalities and San Diego County, seeks information regarding new and existing renewable energy and energy storage projects. The organization aims to achieve 100 percent renewable energy availability and usage by no later than 2035.

Community Power requests information for Portfolio Content Category 1 (PCC1) renewable energy projects and energy storage facilities located within San Diego and Imperial Counties. Eligible renewable energy projects must have minimum capacity of 1 MW AC, while energy storage facilities must have minimum discharge rate of 1 MW AC and minimum storage capacity of 4 MWh AC. Projects must be interconnected at transmission or distribution level voltages and achieve Commercial Operation Dates prior to December 31, 2032. All renewable resources must be certified by the California Energy Commission as Eligible Renewable Energy Resources, with Renewable Energy Certificates created and transferred via WREGIS. Respondents may propose bundled PCC1 renewable energy with RECs and Capacity Attributes, or energy storage products including RA-only agreements, bundled energy and capacity products, or RA with financially settled energy hedge/swap products.

Pricing must reflect unchanged rates throughout the entire contract term without periodic escalators or time-of-delivery factors. For RPS resources, respondents must provide a single flat price ($/MWh) for energy delivered to the generator node or SP15 Trading Hub, including energy commodity, RECs, and Capacity Attributes. Storage resources require separate capacity pricing ($/KW-month). Contract terms must range from minimum 10 years to maximum 20 years following Commercial Operation Date. Proposed utility-scale solar, battery storage, and wind projects (10 MW or greater) are required to utilize project labor agreements. All other projects must pay prevailing wages and work with union labor and apprenticeship programs.

This Local RFI is currently open year-round for submissions. Community Power will confirm receipt within one week of submission and provide detailed response within one month of confirmed receipt. Evaluation criteria include project nodal economics, resource adequacy value, renewable attribute value, project technology diversity, development status and developer experience, project financing viability, workforce development benefits, community benefits including emissions reduction and location in disadvantaged communities, and environmental stewardship on previously developed or brownfield lands. Responses should be submitted electronically via the standardized offer form (Attachment A) available on the Community Power website, including comprehensive project narrative and completed Excel template.