2012 Solar Photovoltaic Program

PG&E’s goal with the Photovoltaic Power Purchase Agreement Request for Offers (PV PPA RFO) is to procure, over a five (5) year period, 250 MW, expressed in units of alternating current (AC) of PV Products as authorized by CPUC Decision (D.10-04-052) (PDF, 257 KB) adopted on April 22, 2010. PG&E filed Advice Letter 3674-E on May 24, 2010, which was approved December 16, 2010 by Resolution E-4368 (DOC, 146 KB).

PG&E anticipates issuing the 2012 Solar Photovoltaic PPA RFO (“PV PPA RFO”) either late March or April of 2012. The goal of this second round of the RFO is to procure 50 MW of new photovoltaic generation. Two of the eligibility requirements of the PV PPA RFO are (1) that participants provide proof that an interconnection application was filed and (2) that participants pursue Resource Adequacy for their projects. If you need to file an application, note that the current Cluster 5 window closes March 31, 2012 .

On April 3, 2012, PG&E issued the 2012 PV PPA RFO. The goal of this second round of the RFO is to procure 50 MW of new photovoltaic generation. PG&E is seeking to execute agreements with a 20 year delivery term from PV facilities that are 1 to 20 MW in size. These must be new PV facilities located in PG&E’s service territory and interconnected to PG&E’s electric system. PG&E plans to host a Bidders’ Webinar on April 11, 2012. Registration is required and is due April 6 , 2012 by 5:00 P.M. Pacific Prevailing Time (“PPT”).

PG&E has developed an interactive, Google-based map of its service territory. The map is a tool to help renewable energy developers identify potential project sites, but it is not a guarantee that generators can interconnect at any particular time and place.

PG&E hosted a Participants’ Forum on October 12th from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. PPT at PG&E’s San Francisco headquarters. The purpose of the Forum was to obtain feedback on PG&E’s 2012 PV Program PPA RFO and to discuss areas of improvement.

The presentation can be found below.

• Forum Presentation (PDF, 244 KB)

PG&E hosted the Participants' Conference via webinar on April 11th from 10:00 am - noon (PDT). The presentation materials, the audio file, attendee list and a subset of the Questions and Answers are available below. The remainder of the Questions and Answers will be posted at a later date.

If the audio portion of the file does not open in your browser you will need to open the Windows Media Player copy the URL link into your media file application.

If you have questions about the PV program, please continue to email the PV program mailbox by clicking on the link or sending an email addressed to PVProgram@pge.com.

• 2012 Solar PV PPA RFO presentation materials (PDF, 1 MB)
• 2012 Solar PV PPA RFO audio file (MP3, 21.8 MB)
• 2012 Solar PV Webinar attendee list (XLS, 43 KB)
• Conference Questions and Answers (DOC, 43 KB)

Any application for interconnection to PG&E's distribution system must be directed to PG&E’s Generation Interconnection Services at gen@pge.com. Participants may also contact the Generation Interconnection Project Manager, William Chung at 415-973-1350 or by email MWCb@pge.com.

All applications to interconnect generators to PG&E's transmission system (60 kV and above) are submitted to and managed by the California Independent System Operator (California ISO or CAISO), a non-profit public benefit corporation charged with operating the majority of California's high-voltage wholesale power grid.

The Generation Interconnections Services group maintains a website where interconnection information can be found.

PG&E expects that it may be difficult for projects under certain scenarios to meet the PPA requirement that projects achieve Commercial Operation within 18 months following CPUC Approval of the PPA. . PG&E will address this issue at the upcoming Participants’ Webinar.

The Solar PV PPA RFO Program Protocol document and all of the appendices will be posted upon RFO issuance. Use the current versions of the documents when submitting an offer.

For best results, we suggest using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as your internet browswer.

• 2012 Solar PV Protocol (DOC, 149 KB) Revised 04-10-2012
• Appendix A - Offer Sheet (XLS, 192 KB) Revised 04-04-2012
• Appendix B1 - Small PV PPA (DOC, 283 KB) Projects 1 MW or greater and less than 3MW
• Appendix B2 - Large PV PPA (DOC, 567 KB) Projects 3 MW or greater and 20 MW or less
• Appendix C - Site Control Questionnaire and Attestation (DOC, 39 KB)
• Appendix D - Demonstration of Interconnection Application Submission (DOC, 38 KB)
• Appendix E - Acknowledgement and Commitment of Site Owner (DOC, 40 KB)
• Appendix F - Supplier Diversity Questionnaire (DOC, 47 KB)
• Appendix G – Interconnection Screening Examples (DOC, 53 KB) Revised 04-04-2012

Participants may submit multiple offers by providing one Offer Form per offer. When submitting offers, please limit the size of emails to 10 MB (inclusive of attachments). If submitting multiple emails for an offer, please clearly identify the submission by using the convention in the email subject header "Bid ID XXXXXXX 1 of X". The BID ID for an offer may be found on the completed Offer Form.

• Document Submission Schedule (DOC, 36 KB)

• General Interconnection Information (PPT, 367 KB)

PG&E has developed confidentiality protocols to ensure that information given by Participants to PG&E through the interconnection or RFO process is not shared with PG&E's staff working on utility-owned PV Program generation. PG&E has developed a Code of Conduct (PDF, 46 KB) to implement these confidentiality protocols.

For information or questions about PG&E's Solar PV PPA Program RFO email to PVProgram@pge.com.

For information or questions about PG&E's Solar PV UOG Program RFO email to UOG_PVProgram@pge.com.