Clean Power Alliance of Southern California (CPA), the fourth largest energy provider in California, the largest Community Choice Aggregator in California and recipient of an investment grade credit rating of A- from S&P Global Rankings, is soliciting competitive proposals to meet its portfolio needs and achieve compliance with various California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Procurement Orders and Resource Adequacy requirements.
Relative to CPA’s 2023 Clean Energy and Reliability RFO, the 2024 Clean Energy and Reliability RFO has expanded product categories to include Energy Only options and has limited the Thermals options to select Thermal Energy Resources with cleaner operations. Additionally, CPA has implemented a number of changes to RFO eligibility requirements including requirements specific to California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Queue Cluster 15 (QC15) projects and a process to allocate CPA’s Commercial Interest points to QC15 projects consistent with the CAISO’s Interconnection Process Enhancements. Please note that for resources located outside of the CAISO grid, CPA will only accept offers that deliver at interties specified in section 3.D of the RFP document.
RFO Schedule
Webinar to discuss the RFO Process
June 18, 2024 at 11:00 AM PT
Deadline to submit questions
June 26, 2024, by 11:59 PM PT
RFO closes - Submissions Due
July 17, 2024, by 5:00 PM PT
Proposers notified of shortlist status
Contract negotiations under exclusivity & award*
September 2024 - January 2025
*FastTrack Process – CPA may, at its sole discretion, enter into negotiations prior to notifying Proposers of their shortlist status. Such exceptions will only be considered if requested by the Proposer in the Offer Form and further justified in their narrative (“Fast Track Negotiations”) or if CPA elects to extend an invitation to Fast Track Negotiations for projects. CPA expects such exceptions to be limited to Proposers with exigent circumstances, including but not limited to a COD of Q3 2026 or earlier that requires immediate consideration. Proposers entering into Fast Track Negotiations with CPA must otherwise comply with all RFO Protocol requirements and processes.
CPA's 2024 Clean Energy and Reliability RFO seeks offers from the following product categories:
- Renewable Generation Only Contracts:
- Mid-term Reliability (MTR) EligibleBaseload/Firm Renewable Energy: Zero emissions generation capacity or capacity that is eligible under the requirements of California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program and has an expected annual capacity factor of at least 80%. The resources must not be use-limited or weather-dependent and must meet all requirements for Baseload/Firm renewable energy under the CPUC Mid-Term Reliability Decision 21-06-035. No storage projects shall qualify under this product category. Projects in this category should have a generation size of 5 MW – 500 MW and a commercial operation date (COD) no later than June 1, 20311, PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- Regular RPS Resources: RPS-eligible generation (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal), 15 MW – 500 MW2 in size. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 20301. CPA has a strong preference for projects with an earlier COD. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- Renewable Generation Plus Storage Contracts: RPS-eligible generation (15 MW – 500 MW2) paired with storage projects (15 MW – 500 MW2). The storage duration must be at least 4 hours and the capacity cannot exceed 100% of the generation nameplate capacity. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 20301. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- Standalone Contracts: Stand-alone storage projects with a storage capacity of 15 MW – 500 MW2. The storage duration must be at least 4 hours. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 20301. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- RA Only Contracts: RA-only projects from storage, thermals, or other qualifying resources with a capacity between 15 MW - 500 MW2. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. PPA tenor must be between 5 and 15 years.
- PCC1 Energy Only (fixed price or index plus) Contracts: RPS-eligible generation (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal) 15 MW - 500 MW2 in size, offered as PCC1 Energy Only fixed price or index+ contracts. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. PPA tenor must be between 5 and 20 years.
- Dispatchable Thermal Energy with RA Contracts:
- Existing Dispatchable Gas projects (with RA) paired with storage: These may include gas fired generation resources such as CC, CT, RICE, CHP, or ST projects that are paired with storage (minimum 1 hour) in order to reduce greenhouse gas and emissions that impact local air quality. The project size must be at least 10 MW with a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. The PPA tolling tenor must be between 2 and 10 years.
- Existing Dispatchable Gas projects (with RA) running on blended fuels: These may include gas fired generation resources such as CC, CT, RICE, CHP, or ST projects that use a green hydrogen or renewable biogas blend in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project size must be at least 10 MW with a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. The PPA tolling tenor must be between 2 and 10 years.
Mandatory data templates for submitting offers are available below. Projects will be evaluated on a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors that include economic value, development risk, workforce development, environmental stewardship, benefits to Disadvantaged Communities, and project location.
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