MINUTES
Energy Planning & Resources Committee
of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, September 27, 2023, 12:15 p.m.
Meeting videos are available on CPA's YouTube Channel.
http://www.youtube.com/@CPApublicmeetings
Committee Members participated in this meeting from the following locations:
Manhattan Beach City Hall
City Manager Conference Room
1400 Highland Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
CPA Office
801 S. Grand Ave., Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Alhambra City Hall
Conference Room A
111 S. First Street
Alhambra, CA 91802
Carson City Hall
Executive Conference Room
701 East Carson Street
Carson, CA 90745
West Hollywood City Hall
3rd Floor Conference Room
8300 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Sierra Madre City Hall
Council Chambers
232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
City of Oxnard Service Center 1
East Conference Room
214 South C Street
Oxnard, CA 93030
Thousand Oaks City Hall
Public Works Conference Room
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Chair Parkhurst called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m. and, Gabriela Monzon, Board Clerk, conducted roll call.
ROLL CALL
Alhambra Jeff Maloney Committee Member Remote
Carson Reata Kulcsar Committee Member Remote
Manhattan Beach David Lesser Committee Member Remote
Oxnard Kathleen Mallory Committee Member Remote
Sierra Madre Robert Parkhurst Committee Chair Remote
South Pasadena Diana Mahmud Committee Member Remote
Thousand Oaks Helen Cox Committee Member Remote
West Hollywood Chelsea Byers Committee Member Absent
All votes are unanimous, unless otherwise stated.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Approve Minutes from August 23, 2023, Energy Committee Meeting
2. Receive and File August 2023 Risk Management Team Report
Motion: Committee Member Lesser, Manhattan Beach
Second: Committee Member Cox, Thousand Oaks
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by a roll call vote.
REGULAR AGENDA
3. (a) Approve the 2023 Clean Energy RFO Shortlist and Waitlist as Recommended by the RFO Review Team; and (b) Authorize Staff to Enter Bilateral Discussions with Shortlisted Project G as Recommended by the RFO Review Team
Lindsay Saxby, Vice President, Power Supply, provided a presentation on the 2023 Clean Energy and Reliability Request for Offers (RFO) shortlist and waitlist. CPA solicited offers for Resource Adequacy (RA)-only, natural gas tolling agreements (tolls), fast track offers, flexible contract durations, and package deals. Staff chose to fast-track two offers out of the 14 requested projects. Ms. Saxby discussed the criteria for shortlisting, noting that historically, more projects need to be shortlisted than the target as some projects may fall out of the negotiation process. The Review Team recommends shortlisting the one RA-only offer received for an existing thermal facility, and discussing with the bidder the possibility of a contract that includes a 30% or greater Hydrogen Blend, while ensuring price competitiveness and environmental advantages. Ms. Saxby provided details for shortlist recommended projects A through J and waitlist recommended projects A through Q.
In response to Committee Member Kulcsar’s question about water usage in Green Hydrogen production, Ms. Saxby clarified that water usage would be part of staff’s analysis of the environmental impact of the offer. Committee Member Cox inquired about wind projects, and staff confirmed that Projects A and H fall under this category. In response to Chair Parkhurst’s question about the development scores of Projects B and C, Ms. Saxby explained that these projects are higher risk because the developer is a recent entrant into the renewable energy development sector. Committee Members Mahmud and Lesser acknowledged that staff had implemented the Review Team’s suggestions and expressed their support for the recommended projects. Committee Member Mallory asked about the distinctions between medium and high-tier projects under the Disadvantaged Community (DAC) criteria. Ted Bardacke, CEO, clarified that a medium-tier storage project is located in a DAC and contributes to economic development, while a high-tier project, also situated in a DAC, provides additional local community benefits.
A written public comment was received for this item.
Motion: Committee Member Mahmud, South Pasadena
Second: Committee Member Lesser, Manhattan Beach
Vote: Item 3 was approved by a roll call vote.
4. Approve the 2023 Power Ready RFO Shortlist Consisting of a Primary Offer and Backup Offer as Recommended by the RFO Review Team
Ms. Saxby provided a presentation on the 2023 Power Ready RFO shortlist. Power Ready allows CPA member agencies to host a behind-the-meter battery energy storage (BESS) and solar photovoltaic system (PV). CPA solicited proposals from installation companies for services contracted through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Ms. Saxby reviewed the proposal details and evaluation summaries of Developers A, B, and C. The Review Team determined that various project areas require further assessment, which will be addressed during negotiations with the primary developer and will consider transitioning to the backup offer if these concerns are not satisfactorily resolved.
In response to Committee Member Cox’s question about incentives, Matt Langer, Chief Operating Officer, clarified that CPA would need to own the project to take advantage of direct pay incentives, but tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may apply.
Committee Member Mahmud referenced questions raised by the Review Team concerning developers and asked if staff had discussed the issues. Mr. Bardacke indicated that staff would address the four main concerns during developer negotiations.
If it is determined that the offers fall outside of the parameters set in the (RFO), they will be brought back to the Energy Committee.
Motion: Committee Member Mahmud, South Pasadena
Second: Committee Member Maloney, Alhambra
Vote: Item 4 was approved by a roll call vote.
COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
Committee Member Lesser congratulated staff for receiving the investment grade credit rating of “A-“. In response to Chair Parkhurst’s question about how CPA’s rating compares to other Community Choice Aggregations (CCAs), staff stated that most CCAs have an “A-” rating, with a few above or below.
ADJOURN
Chair Parkhurst adjourned the meeting at 1:21 p.m.