Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
7:00 pm
Cupertino Community Hall
10350 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA
Gilroy City Hall
Administration Conference Room
7351 Rosanna Street
Gilroy, CA
Monte Sereno Council Chambers
18041 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road
Monte Sereno, CA
MEETING MINUTES
Call to Order:
Chair Tyson called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Director Meadows provided a statement regarding her remote participation pursuant to AB 2449 under the “Just Cause” provision due to a physical disability that could not be accommodated and stated there was no one else 18 or over present in her location.
Roll Call
Present:
George Tyson (Chair), Los Altos Hills
Larry Klein (Vice Chair), Sunnyvale
Elliot Scozzola, Campbell
J.R. Fruen, Cupertino
Zach Hilton, Gilroy (participated remotely)
Sally Meadows, Los Altos (participated remotely)
Rob Rennie, Los Gatos
Garry Barbadillo, Milpitas
Bryan Mekechuk, Monte Sereno (participated remotely; joined the meeting at 7:05 p.m.) Yvonne Martinez Beltran, Morgan Hill
Pat Showalter, Mountain View
Otto Lee, Santa Clara County (arrived at 7:04 p.m.)
Tina Walia, Saratoga
A quorum was present.
Public Comment on Matters Not Listed on the Agenda
No speakers.
Docusign Envelope ID: 052F7AB8-A8E1-43D9-BEA0-6F6FB92A051F
Consent Calendar
There were no questions or comments from the Board; there were no requests from the public to speak on any matter on the Consent Calendar.
1a) Approve Minutes of the March 12, 2025, Board of Directors Meeting 1b) Receive February 2025 Treasurer Report
1c) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute a Contract Amendment with School of Thought for Marketing and Advertising Services to Add $230,000 for a New Amount Not to Exceed $530,000
1d) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Approve the CalCCA Annual Budget and Payment of Dues and Fees in an Amount Not to Exceed $750,000 per CalCCA’s Fiscal Year 1e) Adopt Resolution Establishing Administrative Claims Procedure 1f) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute a 15-Year Power Purchase Agreement with Yellow Pine III, LLC for an Energy Storage Service Agreement, in Substantial Form and Any Necessary Ancillary Agreements and Documents
1g) Receive Executive Committee Report
1h) Receive Additional Committees Report
1i) Receive California Community Power Report
MOTION: Vice Chair Klein moved and Director Rennie seconded the motion to approve the Consent Calendar, Items 1a through 1i.
The motion carried by verbal roll call vote with Directors Lee and Mekechuk absent.
Regular Calendar
2) CEO Report (Discussion)
CEO Monica Padilla addressed the following in her report:
1) Announcement of staff hiring and promotion:
Kaila Kiefer, previously an SVCE climate fellow, accepted a permanent position with SVCE in the role of Energy Services Specialist; and
Adam Pearse, Senior Regulatory Analyst, was promoted to Senior Regulatory Analyst and Associate General Counsel
2) An acknowledgment of the recipients of the Metropolitan Transportation Capital Program Implementation Grant for charging station infrastructure work, which included: City of Morgan Hill, City of Gilroy, and Santa Clara County. CEO Padilla announced SVCE’s matching of grant funds at 11.47 percent by providing $136,266 to the City of Morgan Hill, and $68,302 to the City of Gilroy, and noted that the County infrastructure projects were outside of SVCE’s service territories.
3) Announcement of SVCE as the recipient of an Excellence in Public Information and Communications (EPIC) award presented by the California Association of Public Information Officials.
4) Announcement of an SVCE survey requesting information from Directors regarding ideas to improve agency communication with the Board of Directors.
Docusign Envelope ID: 052F7AB8-A8E1-43D9-BEA0-6F6FB92A051F
5) An update on executive orders from Bena Chang, Director of Government and Legislative Affairs, who provided information regarding the slate of tariffs imposed by the federal government, with potential impact to costs for developing and procuring clean energy.
Staff responded to questions and comments regarding federal-level policy changes, existing SVCE power purchase agreements and future pricing adjustments, tariffs and clean energy procurement, and tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
3) Adopt SVCE’s Power Purchase Agreement Project Selection Policy (Action) Director of Government and Legislative Affairs Chang and Kris Van Vactor, Director of Power Resources, presented information on SVCE’s proposed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Project Selection Policy, including the following key elements of the policy: workforce standards, environmental stewardship, technology diversification, and location. Changes made to the policy as a result of stakeholder feedback were reviewed, in addition to the direction provided by the Executive Committee from the February 28, 2025 meeting.
Staff responded to questions and comments regarding potential gaps identified in the staff proposal and stakeholders’ requests.
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment and addressed in-person comments.
Louise A., Working Partnerships USA, provided a comment in support of the proposed policy with two additional elements recommended in the public comment letter that was submitted (consider environmental impacts and assess community engagement for earlier stage projects), and expressed the importance of developing projects focused on regional construction careers.
Following the in-person public comment speaker, Chair Tyson addressed members of the public joining remotely.
Bradley C., Oakland resident and consultant with IBEW local 595, provided supportive comments regarding the proposed policy, specifically the strong workforce and environmental standards and the role the policy will play in terms of workforce development.
Eric V., Co-director of the CCA Workforce and Environmental Justice Alliance, thanked the SVCE Board and staff for the collaborative effort undertaken in the development of the proposed policy, and requested inclusion of earlier stage considerations in environmental stewardship and community engagement as mentioned in the public comment letter that was submitted.
Tim F., CCA Workforce and Environmental Justice Alliance, commented on habitat conservation plan best practices and the desire to see the industry embrace the habitat conservation plan as a norm to get the best outcomes.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
Chair Tyson opened the floor for comments from the Board of Directors. Board members shared comments regarding the following:
Clarification regarding suggested stakeholder changes relating to earlier stage projects, pre-entitlement and entitlement distinction, and mitigation efforts that would address potential environmental impacts;
Proposed language changes to the entitlement process, and the enforceable development agreement relating to habitat conservation plans; Project risk reduction and meeting SVCE’s environmental stewardship goals; Docusign Envelope ID: 052F7AB8-A8E1-43D9-BEA0-6F6FB92A051F
SVCE’s environmental stewardship goals post-commencement of PPA projects and maintaining SVCE standards;
Developer agreements relating to environmental stewardship and future PPA projects; and
Suggested stakeholder language changes.
MOTION: Director Mekechuk moved and Director Scozzola seconded the motion to Adopt SVCE’s Power Purchase Agreement Project Selection Policy as set forth by staff.
Director Rennie clarified with the maker of the motion that “as set forth by staff” meant the proposed redlines to the policy were not included; Director Mekechuk confirmed the proposed redlines would not be included.
The motion carried by verbal roll call vote, 11-2-0, with Directors Hilton and Martinez Beltran dissenting.
4) Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to Execute Contracts with Kings Community Action Organization and Self-Help Enterprises in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $1,500,000 from the Hanford Hybrid Plant Emissions Mitigation Fund (Action) Pamela Leonard, Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications, and Juliette Pascual, Community Outreach Specialist, provided a presentation regarding the funding request for two programs from the Hanford Hybrid Plant Emissions Mitigation Fund to support emissions reduction from greenhouse gases through electrification activities in disadvantaged or low-income communities in Kings County. The presentation included information on the following:
Funding for Kings Community Action Organization up to $300,000 for weatherization measures;
Funding for Self-Help Enterprises up to $1,200,000 for electrification initiatives; Highlights of the Hanford Hybrid Battery Plant;
An overview of Kings Community Action Organization and Self-Help Enterprises program; and
Key elements of funding the Kings Community Action Organization and Self-Help Enterprises programs and SVCE’s funding guidelines and priorities.
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
Staff responded to questions and comments regarding local weatherization programs, the tenure and oversight of the two selected programs, and community education relating to electrification.
Board members provided supportive comments to staff regarding their efforts on the initiative.
MOTION: Vice Chair Klein moved and Director Scozzola seconded the motion to authorize the Chief Executive Officer to execute contracts with Kings Community Action Organization and Self-Help Enterprises in an amount not-to-exceed $1,500,000 from the Hanford Hybrid Plant Emissions Mitigation Fund
The motion carried by verbal roll call vote, 12-1-0, with Director Barbadillo dissenting. 5) Regionalization Overview (Discussion)
CEO Padilla introduced the item and Director of Power Resources Van Vactor and Director of Government and Legislative Affairs Chang provided a presentation with information on the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), the governance Docusign Envelope ID: 052F7AB8-A8E1-43D9-BEA0-6F6FB92A051F
structure of CAISO, and the introduction of Senate Bill 540 (SB540) that aims to transition specific functions from CAISO governance to regional organizations.
Staff responded to questions and comments including: SVCE’s support for SB 540, the regional energy market, the potential for passage of SB 540, future participation of other states in regional energy markets, and the position of other CCAs on SB 540.
There was no public comment on this item.
6) Local Agency Action Planning (Informational)
Anthony Eulo, Senior Manager of Public Sector Services, provided an update regarding local reach codes, permit modernization and policy implementation, and existing building retrofitting initiatives.
Staff responded to questions and comments regarding the adoption of 2025 state-level building codes, ongoing engagement with agencies’ stakeholders, reach codes, introduction of and potential amendments to Assembly Bill 306 (AB 306), and the potential impact on regional housing development initiatives.
Chair Tyson opened Public Comment.
No speakers.
Chair Tyson closed Public Comment.
Board Member Announcements and Future Agenda Items
Vice Chair Klein acknowledged SVCE staff for their participation in the Sunnyvale Arbor Day event at Sunnyvale City Hall.
Adjourn
Chair Tyson adjourned the meeting at 9:06 p.m.
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Andrea Pizano, Board Secretary
Docusign Envelope ID: 052F7AB8-A8E1-43D9-BEA0-6F6FB92A051F