Solar in Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) Programs Fall 2020

The Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) Programs at PG&E are a result of Assembly Bill 327, which directed the IOUs to procure under two new programs designed to promote the installation of renewable generation in DACs. This bill enacted the Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff (DAC-GT) program and Community Solar Green Tariff (CS-GT) program. For these programs 199 MW have been allocated statewide allowing eligible participating utilities' residential customers to recieve a 20% bill credit while obtaining 100 percent solar power energy from local solar resources. We offer two structures:

1. Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff (Green Saver)
2. Community Solar Green Tariff (Local Green Saver)

*DAC Defined: Communities identified by using CalEnviroScreen 3.0, as among the top 25% of communities statewide, along with the 22 communities in the highest 5% of CalEnviroScreen's Pollution Burden that do not have an overall CalEnviroScreen score because of unrealistic socioeconomic or health data.

**San Joaquin Valley (SJV) communities in PG&E’s service territory include Allensworth, Alpaugh, Cantua Creek, Fairmead, Lanare, Le Grand, Seville, and La Vina. Projects located in SJV communities are eligible to participate in DAC-GT or CS-GT and will be given priority in the selection process in CS-GT.

Reference Documents

• Decision 18-06-027
• Decision Correcting and Clarifying Decision 18-06-027

Participate in Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff and/or Community Solar Green Tariff Request for Offer

Eligibility

PG&E's Fall 2020 Disadvantaged Communities (DAC) Request for Offer (RFO) solicitation Protocol has a complete list of eligibility criteria in addition to the DAC Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Fall 2020 RFO Solicitation Materials

• Fall 2020 DAC Protocol (PDF, 831 KB) (Updated 10-20-20)
  • Fall 2020 DAC Protocol Redlined Issuance vs Update (PDF, 831 KB)
• Appendix A - Disadvantaged Communities Offer Form (XLSB, 244 KB)
• Appendix B - Supplemental Project Information (DOCX, 34 KB)
• Appendix C - Site Control Questionnaire and Attestation (DOCX, 34 KB)
• Appendix D - DAC Power Purchase Agreement (DOCX, 274 KB)
• Appendix E - Acknowledgement and Commitment Site Owner (DOCX, 24 KB)
• Appendix F - FERC Order 717 Waiver (DOCX, 18 KB)
• Appendix G - DAC Demonstration of Developer Experience (PDF, 999 KB)

Community Solar Green Tariff RFO Protocol Appendices (Below documents are only required for CS-GT offers)

• Appendix H - CS-GT Workforce Development Plan Attestation (PDF, 226 KB)
• Appendix I - CS-GT Workforce Development Affidavit (PDF, 160 KB)
• Appendix J - CS-GT Workforce Development Affidavit Trainee Log (XLSX, 14 KB)

CS-GT Sponsorship Requirement and Resources

• The Community Solar Green Tariff program is predicated upon the involvement of the community, and therefore requires sponsorship from either a Community-based Organization (CBO) or local government entity. In return the sponsor(s) are eligible to receive the 20% discount
• Letter of Commitment from Sponsor is required as part of offer submittal, and should include:
  • Demonstration of substantial interest of community members in subscribing to project
  • Estimated number of subscribers, with justification to ensure project is sized to likely demand
  • A preliminary plan to conduct outreach and recruit subscribers (which may be conducted in conjunction with the developer and/or the utility)
  • Siting preferences, including community-suggested host sites, and verification that the site chosen for the bid is consistent with community preference

If you are a Community-based Organization and interested in becoming a sponsor, please visit PG&E's Local Green Saver Program to learn more. Email questions to LocalGreenSaver@pge.com 

Participants' Webinar

PG&E hosted a Participants' Webinar for the Fall 2020 Disadvantaged Communities RFO on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. The webinar presentation, audio recording and Q&A is located below.

• Fall 2020 DAC RFO Webinar Presentation (PDF, 1.7 MB)
• Fall 2020 DAC RFO Webinar Audio Recording (MP3, 34 MB)
• Fall 2020 DAC RFO Webinar Q&A (PDF, 85 KB)

Power Advocate Instructions and Registration Information

Important information

All Participants who are interested in submitting an offer package into PG&E's Fall 2020 Disadvantaged Communities Request for Offers (RFO) will need to register with Power Advocate before submitting an offer into the RFO. A link to register at Power Advocate is available here:
https://www.poweradvocate.com/pR.do?okey=109252&pubEvent=true
Only those Participants who have been accepted through the Power Advocate platform will be permitted to submit an Offer into this RFO.

Power Advocate Instructions

All offer package materials must be submitted on the Power Advocate site by the schedule and time indicated below.

Distribution and Transmission Interconnection Information

The Generator Interconnection Procedure pursuant to the WDT and CAISO Tariff consists of three application processes: (1) The Fast Track Procedure for generators 5 MW (2 MW on 12kV, 3MW on 21kV, and 5MW on higher voltages) in size that pass the "Fast Track Screens" (2) the Independent Study Process for all generators that are electrically independent from another generator or cluster of generators, and (3) the Cluster Study Process for interconnection requests that do not qualify for the Fast Track Process or the Independent Study Process.

Under the CAISO Tariff and PG&E WDT Generator Interconnection Procedures, all interconnection requests under the Independent Study Process or Cluster Process may request interconnection as a "full capacity" resource. Please refer to PG&E's or CAISO's website for more details. 
For more information about the interconnection process, please visit PG&E's Wholesale Generator Interconnections website. Sellers may also send an email to PG&E's Generation Interconnection Services at wholesalegen@pge.com.

Power Purchase Agreements

If your project is awarded a Power Purchase Agreement, please keep in mind the following unique requirements:

• Provide a Green-e Energy Tracking Attestation prior to achieving commercial operation and updates as required.
• Regular submittal of customer enrollment levels for Power Purchase Agreement settlements.