ITEM 5 – UPDATED REPORT
Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT) Projects
To: The Governing Board
From: Teresa Willock, Board Clerk
Item 5: Updated Report:
Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT) Projects
Date: 4/16/2026
The April 16, 2026 Board Agenda packet was posted on April 10, 2026 with Regular Agenda Item 5, but the document contained an error in reporting in Table 1. For PPR #221-02, the correct county is Yuba instead of Butte.
The updated document is being provided at the April 16, 2026 Board meeting and will be uploaded to the Pioneer Community Energy website following the meeting.
The following attachments are for your reference.
ATTACHMENT
1. Redline version showing changes made to Item 5 report
2. Clean version of updated Item 5 report
Plf)NEER
COMMUNITY ENERGY
Staff Report – Item 5
To: The Governing Board
From: Kristoffer Antigua, Power Supply Contracts Manager Item 5: Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff Projects Update Date: 4/16/2026
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update from Pioneer Community Energy (Pioneer) staff regarding projects approved for the Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT).
BACKGROUND
In December 2015, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established BioMAT in response to Senate Bill (SB) 1122 directing large investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to collectively procure 250 megawatts of renewable energy from small-scale bioenergy projects. Although BioMAT was originally limited to California’s three large IOUs, Pioneer led the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 843 in 2021 that allowed Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) to also participate in BioMAT. The CPUC took over two years to implement AB 843, which left Pioneer less than a year and a half to participate in the program.
The purpose of BioMAT is to allow for diversification of California’s renewable energy portfolio while addressing critical environmental challenges such as wildfires. BioMAT has three distinct categories: Category 1 (biogas), Category 2 (dairy and agricultural waste), and Category 3 (sustainable forest management). Category 3 directly reduces wildfire risk by utilizing forest biomass as fuel for the power plants. Through long-term, fixed price contracts, developers can proceed with building power plants with financial certainty and the offtakers (including CCAs) can submit their above-market contract costs to the CPUC for BioMAT cost recovery. BioMAT had a sunset date of December 31, 2025, meaning any BioMAT application received after December 31, 2025, would not be considered.
This meant that Pioneer had less than a year and half to identify projects, resolve issues with the CPUC, investor-owned utilities, and BioMAT vendors, work with developers and City/County staff, and accomplish many other things to get projects approved and in the queue before the December 31, 2025, deadline. In the fall of 2025, Pioneer worked directly with the project developers and began receiving BioMAT applications, also known as Program Participation Requests (PPRs), from them.
ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION
Pioneer received a total of six PPRs and deemed them complete before the sunset date of December 31, 2025.
As shown in Table 1 below the PPRs consisted of five projects submitted by West Biofuels, and one project submitted by Phoenix Energy. West Biofuels submitted four Category 3 projects and one Category 2 project.
Phoenix Energy submitted one Category 3 project. The West Biofuels projects are in Grass Valley, Mariposa, Marysville, Quincy, and Biggs, and the Phoenix Energy project is in Arnold.
Plf)NEER
COMMUNITY ENERGY
Attachment 1 - REDLINE VERSION
Agenda Item: 5 Agenda Date: 4/16/2026
Table 1
In January 2026, Pioneer and West Biofuels executed a BioMAT Power Purchase Agreement (BioMAT PPA) for the Mariposa project. The other five projects, submitted during the Final Period of BioMAT, remained “in queue” during the Final Period that ended on March 31, 2026. The Final Period allowed PPRs submitted on or before December 31, 2025 to remain eligible and be considered for a BioMAT PPA award as long as the remaining capacity allocations have not been exhausted. On April 1, 2026, Pioneer was notified that the five PPRs were conditional winners for a BioMAT PPA award and could proceed with a BioMAT PPA. Pioneer staff are actively working with West Biofuels and Phoenix Energy on executing the BioMAT PPAs and expect to execute the five BioMAT PPAs in April 2026.
As shown in Table 2 below, the total estimated annual cost for all six BioMAT PPAs is approximately $19.4 million and when reduced by the expected BioMAT subsidies totaling $17.0 million, it results in an expected net cost to Pioneer of $2.4 million.
Table 2
STRATEGIC PLAN
The recommendation supports the following strategic goals:
1. Be a Community Partner
2. Be Fiscally Strong and Resilient
BioMAT
PPR # Applicant City County Category Size Award Status COD 221-01 West Biofuels Grass Valley Nevada Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 10/1/2027 221-02 West Biofuels Marysville Yuba Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 4/1/2028 221-03 West Biofuels Mariposa Mariposa Cat 3 3 MW PPA awarded 10/1/2027 221-05 West Biofuels Quincy Plumas Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 10/1/2028 221-06 West Biofuels Biggs Butte Cat 2 3 MW conditional winner 4/1/2028 223-01 Phoenix Energy Arnold Calaveras Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 12/1/2028 BioMAT
PPR # Applicant City County Category Size Award Status COD 221-01 West Biofuels Grass Valley Nevada Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 10/1/2027 221-02 West Biofuels Marysville Butte Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 4/1/2028 221-03 West Biofuels Mariposa Mariposa Cat 3 3 MW PPA awarded 10/1/2027 221-05 West Biofuels Quincy Plumas Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 10/1/2028 221-06 West Biofuels Biggs Butte Cat 2 3 MW conditional winner 4/1/2028 223-01 Phoenix Energy Arnold Calaveras Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 12/1/2028 PPR # Developer Project Category Size BioMAT Price
Estimated Cost
per Year
Estimated BioMAT
Subsidy per Year
Estimated Net Cost
per Year
221-01 West Biofuels Grass Valley Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-02 West Biofuels Marysville Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-03 West Biofuels Mariposa Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-05 West Biofuels Quincy Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-06 West Biofuels Biggs Cat 2 3 MW $ 183.72 $ 2,900,000 $ 2,500,000 $ 400,000 223-01 Phoenix Energy Arnold Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 $ 19,400,000 $ 17,000,000 $ 2,400,000
Agenda Item: 5 Agenda Date: 4/16/2026
3. Achieve Operational Optimization
FISCAL IMPACT
The net cost of the recommendation aligns with the normal cost of energy resulting in no fiscal impact to the budget.
ATTACHMENTS
There are no attachments to this report.
Staff Report – Item 5
To: The Governing Board
From: Kristoffer Antigua, Power Supply Contracts Manager Item 5: Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff Projects Update Date: 4/16/2026
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update from Pioneer Community Energy (Pioneer) staff regarding projects approved for the Bioenergy Market Adjusting Tariff (BioMAT).
BACKGROUND
In December 2015, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established BioMAT in response to Senate Bill (SB) 1122 directing large investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to collectively procure 250 megawatts of renewable energy from small-scale bioenergy projects. Although BioMAT was originally limited to California’s three large IOUs, Pioneer led the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 843 in 2021 that allowed Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) to also participate in BioMAT. The CPUC took over two years to implement AB 843, which left Pioneer less than a year and a half to participate in the program.
The purpose of BioMAT is to allow for diversification of California’s renewable energy portfolio while addressing critical environmental challenges such as wildfires. BioMAT has three distinct categories: Category 1 (biogas), Category 2 (dairy and agricultural waste), and Category 3 (sustainable forest management). Category 3 directly reduces wildfire risk by utilizing forest biomass as fuel for the power plants. Through long-term, fixed price contracts, developers can proceed with building power plants with financial certainty and the offtakers (including CCAs) can submit their above-market contract costs to the CPUC for BioMAT cost recovery. BioMAT had a sunset date of December 31, 2025, meaning any BioMAT application received after December 31, 2025, would not be considered.
This meant that Pioneer had less than a year and half to identify projects, resolve issues with the CPUC, investor-owned utilities, and BioMAT vendors, work with developers and City/County staff, and accomplish many other things to get projects approved and in the queue before the December 31, 2025, deadline. In the fall of 2025, Pioneer worked directly with the project developers and began receiving BioMAT applications, also known as Program Participation Requests (PPRs), from them.
ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION
Pioneer received a total of six PPRs and deemed them complete before the sunset date of December 31, 2025.
As shown in Table 1 below the PPRs consisted of five projects submitted by West Biofuels, and one project submitted by Phoenix Energy. West Biofuels submitted four Category 3 projects and one Category 2 project.
Phoenix Energy submitted one Category 3 project. The West Biofuels projects are in Grass Valley, Mariposa, Marysville, Quincy, and Biggs, and the Phoenix Energy project is in Arnold.
Plf)NEER
COMMUNITY ENERGY
Attachment 2 - CLEAN VERSION
Agenda Item: 5 Agenda Date: 4/16/2026
Table 1
In January 2026, Pioneer and West Biofuels executed a BioMAT Power Purchase Agreement (BioMAT PPA) for the Mariposa project. The other five projects, submitted during the Final Period of BioMAT, remained “in queue” during the Final Period that ended on March 31, 2026. The Final Period allowed PPRs submitted on or before December 31, 2025 to remain eligible and be considered for a BioMAT PPA award as long as the remaining capacity allocations have not been exhausted. On April 1, 2026, Pioneer was notified that the five PPRs were conditional winners for a BioMAT PPA award and could proceed with a BioMAT PPA. Pioneer staff are actively working with West Biofuels and Phoenix Energy on executing the BioMAT PPAs and expect to execute the five BioMAT PPAs in April 2026.
As shown in Table 2 below, the total estimated annual cost for all six BioMAT PPAs is approximately $19.4 million and when reduced by the expected BioMAT subsidies totaling $17.0 million, it results in an expected net cost to Pioneer of $2.4 million.
Table 2
STRATEGIC PLAN
The recommendation supports the following strategic goals:
1. Be a Community Partner
2. Be Fiscally Strong and Resilient
3. Achieve Operational Optimization
FISCAL IMPACT
The net cost of the recommendation aligns with the normal cost of energy resulting in no fiscal impact to the budget.
ATTACHMENTS
There are no attachments to this report.
BioMAT
PPR # Applicant City County Category Size Award Status COD 221-01 West Biofuels Grass Valley Nevada Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 10/1/2027 221-02 West Biofuels Marysville Yuba Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 4/1/2028 221-03 West Biofuels Mariposa Mariposa Cat 3 3 MW PPA awarded 10/1/2027 221-05 West Biofuels Quincy Plumas Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 10/1/2028 221-06 West Biofuels Biggs Butte Cat 2 3 MW conditional winner 4/1/2028 223-01 Phoenix Energy Arnold Calaveras Cat 3 3 MW conditional winner 12/1/2028 PPR # Developer Project Category Size BioMAT Price
Estimated Cost
per Year
Estimated BioMAT
Subsidy per Year
Estimated Net Cost
per Year
221-01 West Biofuels Grass Valley Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-02 West Biofuels Marysville Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-03 West Biofuels Mariposa Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-05 West Biofuels Quincy Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 221-06 West Biofuels Biggs Cat 2 3 MW $ 183.72 $ 2,900,000 $ 2,500,000 $ 400,000 223-01 Phoenix Energy Arnold Cat 3 3 MW $ 199.72 $ 3,300,000 $ 2,900,000 $ 400,000 $ 19,400,000 $ 17,000,000 $ 2,400,000