MINUTES
Energy Planning & Resources Committee
of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 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
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
Arcadia City Hall
Council Chambers Conference Room
240 W. Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91007
City of Oxnard Service Center 1
East Conference Room
214 South C Street
Oxnard, CA 93030
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
Arcadia Michael Cao 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
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 the June 26, 2024, Energy Committee Meeting
2. Receive and File June 2024 and July 2024 Risk Management Team Reports Motion: Committee Member Lesser, Manhattan Beach
Second: Committee Member Byers, West Hollywood
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, discussed the SunZia contract, which will need to be amended to balance risk and obligations given that SunZia has recently been approved as a Subscriber Participating Transmission Owner (SPTO) with CAISO.
Committee Member Lesser asked about the implications of SunZia transitioning from a standalone balancing authority to being part of CAISO; staff explained that the import structure for Resource Adequacy and accompanying purchasing rights would be eliminated, creating operational simplicity. To Chair Parkhurst’s inquiry about other projects that have joined CAISO, staff explained that the Transwest Express project was the first to propose and develop the SPTO process; it succeeded in the regulatory phase but is not online yet. Staff clarified for Committee Member Mahmud that adding the SunZia transmission line does not necessarily make it easier for other generators in that vicinity to use that line; they would have to go through the process themselves and make infrastructure upgrades to interconnect.
4. 2024 RFO Longlist Overview
Lindsay Descagnia, Vice President of Power Supply, reported that the 2024 RFO received a robust response; however, more than half of the bids were for early-stage Queue Cluster 15 (QC15) projects or projects without Full Capacity Deliverability Status (FCDS). CPA must balance procuring more energy now anticipating the scarcity of FCDS but not over-procuring when prices are elevated.
The RFO Review Team and the Energy Committee will review offers that have been vetted by staff in September. Ms. Descagnia presented the RFO overview and goals, stating the focus is on long-term contracts, rather than procuring products such as RA and renewable energy in volatile short-term markets. Ms.
Descagnia explained procurement planning during uncertainty, emphasizing that CPA’s smaller projected shortlist target for renewables recognizes the high-price current market environment, lack of non-solar technology offers, and new regulatory challenges. Ms. Descagnia discussed details about the new Department of Water Resources’ central procurement entity (CPE), which may benefit CPA with possible renewable resources coming online in the early 2030s.
Ms. Descagnia presented the RFO overview of 172 conforming offers; most projects come from the lower half of the state, and Los Angeles County for standalone storage. There was a fair amount of RA only with no energy component offers, and solar was the dominant technology. Staff presented the projects according to size, with many offered in the 100-to-200-megawatt range. Ms.
Descagnia included information about preliminary Fast Track offer negotiations now underway for four projects. Staff presented key takeaways, including the limited number of viable projects with FCDS; the need to balance FCDS availability with higher prices for renewables in making the shortlist; addressing the lack of conforming offers for wind, biomass, and geothermal; and consideration of opportunities for natural gas tolls with storage and with blended fuels. Staff closed with a Clean Energy and Reliability schedule for the 2024 RFO, as well as a tentative Future RFO/RFI schedule for 2025.
Committee Member Mahmud asked if CPA will have visibility into other projects seeking FCDS to collaborate in construction of grid enhancements. Staff responded that CAISO is expected to produce a map of projects pointing to remaining capacity at certain locations, which would help in matching up QC 15 projects. Regarding future RFOs/RFIs, Committee Member Kulcsar suggested providing bidders with time and opportunity to address missing or additional information for projects to ensure CPA receives the best proposals. With regard to the 2025 Emerging Technology RFI, Committee Member Mahmud asked how the Department of Water Resources’ emerging technologies initiatives would intersect with CPA’s process; staff stated that the RFI would provide flexibility and a planning buffer. The RFI would also allow for developers seeking grants to partner with off-takers to improve their approval odds.
Staff noted that the RFO/RFI schedule allows staff to collect information on new energy sources and/or projects. Staff added they expect projects with FCDS to be in high demand, and that may reflect in pricing.
COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
Chair Parkhurst reported that 94% of all new U.S. power plants are predicted to be wind, water, and solar by the end of 2024. The State of California celebrated 104 days where at least part of the day was powered by 100% renewable resources and Chair Parkhurst credited CPA with being part of that success.
ADJOURN
Chair Parkhurst adjourned the meeting at 1:13 p.m.