MINUTES
Energy Planning & Resources Committee
of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 11:00 a.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
Clean Power Alliance Office
Executive Conference Room
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
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Chair Parkhurst called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.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 Absent
Sierra Madre Robert Parkhurst Committee Chair Remote
South Pasadena Diana Mahmud Committee Member Remote
Thousand Oaks Helen Cox Committee Member Absent
West Hollywood Chelsea Byers Committee Member Remote
All votes are unanimous, unless otherwise stated.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Approve Minutes from April 24, 2024, Energy Committee Meeting
2. Receive and File April 2024 Risk Management Team Report Motion: Committee Member Byers, West Hollywood
Second: Committee Member Lesser, Manhattan Beach
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by a roll call vote.
REGULAR AGENDA
3. Oral Update from the Vice President of Power Supply
Lindsay Descagnia, Vice President of Power Supply, reported that the CPUC has changed the due date for CPA’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) from November 2024 to November 2025; added new matters into the scope of the IRP, including the development of a reliable clean power procurement program, which may mean further procurement orders for projects coming online after 2028, as well as a proposal for a new central procurement entity for long-lead time resources such as geothermal projects. Ms. Descagnia reported that CPA has met its 2024 Year-Ahead Resource Adequacy (RA) compliance requirement. CPA will also present power purchase agreements to the Board for two projects in Kern County, developed by Berkshire Hathaway expected to come online next year.
4. Receive Presentation on 2024 Clean Energy & Reliability RFO Overview and Provide Feedback
John McNamara, Director of Structured Contracts, presented on CPA’s Clean Energy & Reliability RFO. The RFO is an annual procurement effort set to launch in early June to secure renewable energy and RA supply under long-term contracts to reduce exposure to short-term market volatility and to satisfy CPA’s remaining Mid-Term Reliability (MTR) compliance requirements for baseload resources. For MTR, CPA will target procurement of geothermal and biomass resources. CPA will continue to have the ability to fast track projects that have Full Capacity Deliverability Status (FCDS). Mr. McNamara presented changes to the 2024 RFO, including new minimum system size eligibility requirements, energy-only Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) contracts, blended fuel or hybrid natural gas projects with reduced emissions, and specific instructions for Queue Cluster 15 projects (QC 15). Regarding minimum eligibility size, most product categories are going from 5MW to 15 MW; projects within Los Angeles or Ventura counties will remain at 5MW. Mr. McNamara described the product types and eligibility and discussed terms, size, and start dates, noting that there will be no limitation on the max start date for any QC 15 project bidding into the RFO.
Mr. McNamara presented evaluation criteria for projects, reviewed Fast Track negotiations to secure high value projects, and summarized impediments to near-term project development. These challenges include: a limited number of projects available during a high demand period, a lack of available interconnection and difficulty obtaining FCDS, supply chain issues, and rising financing costs. High value projects can be fast tracked when the RFO participant requests it or when staff identifies projects with FCDS. Mr. McNamara summarized the QC 15 program, created to address an increasing and unprecedented backlog of early-stage projects that will eventually need interconnection. CAISO will score projects based on Commercial Interest, Project Viability, and System Need. Mr. McNamara outlined CPA’s QC 15 RFO and scoring process. In return for receiving Commercial Interest points, project developers must sign an Exclusivity Agreement, which will include a collateral deposit that will only be returned under certain conditions. Lastly, Mr. McNamara reviewed the RFO timeline; the Energy Committee will review the RFO shortlist by September.
Staff addressed several questions from the Committee. Responding to Committee Member Mahmud’s question about the CAISO point allocation for Load Serving Entities, staff confirmed its based on the LSE’s load share. Committee Member Lesser asked about the energy marketplace and how minimum size requirements will affect procurement. Staff noted that the market is still tight and that 5MW projects will not significantly help CPA meet procurement needs, but staff want to ensure that Los Angeles and Ventura County projects are still able to bid into the RFO. In response to Chair Parkhurst’s question about project prioritization, staff noted projects are ranked by quantitative and qualitative metrics to continue building a diverse portfolio. Committee Member Kulcsar asked staff to ensure that bidders in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties know they can bid at the lower megawatt sizes.
Committee Member Mahmud asked about securing exclusivity for projects under Fast Track negotiation. Staff explained that exclusivity is not required during fast-track negotiations, as projects have not yet been reviewed by the Energy Committee at that time. In response to Committee Member comments about exclusivity, Matt Langer, Chief Operating Officer, reminded the Committee that staff will identify and invite projects into the Fast Track process to ensure the best projects will come under contract with CPA. Committee Member Lesser requested more detail on the constraints of the current energy market and impediments to contracting. Mr. McNamara noted that the current market favors sellers; the interconnection backlog also negatively impacts project availability. Exclusivity agreements may not result in a contract largely due to instances in which counterparties may introduce too stringent requirements into the negotiations or are unable to keep their commitments. Because of the exclusivity agreement, counterparties are prohibited from marketing projects to a third party.
Committee Member Mahmud asked about the construction of new transmission lines and if there are parameters in place to protect CPA in the case that developers withdraw from the interconnection process after receiving CPA’s points. Staff described CAISO’s transmission planning process and how it has capacity upgrade zones based on location of resources. Regarding interconnection, staff noted that there are different processes to respond when project costs are increasing. Depending on the incremental increase, CPA may still want to receive a bid. Staff agreed to continue exchanging information with Committee Member Mahmud after the meeting.
COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
Committee Members expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming Board retreat.
ADJOURN
Chair Parkhurst adjourned the meeting at 12:14 p.m.