August 13, 2025
Chair Tyson Honorable Board Directors
Silicon Valley Clean Energy
333 W. El Camino Real, Ste 330
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Re: Item 5 – Approval of Power Purchase Agreement for the Darden Solar + Storage Project
Chair Tyson and Honorable Directors,
Thank you for your continued leadership in ensuring that SVCE’s investments in clean energy reflect both economic and environmental responsibility. We appreciate the Board’s adoption of the Power Purchase Agreement Project Selection Policy in April and the staff’s commitment to integrating its principles into SVCE’s procurement approach.
While the Darden Solar + Storage Project was shortlisted prior to the policy’s adoption, we recognize and appreciate that the staff report highlights its compliance with prevailing wage requirements and that the project will be built under a project labor agreement (PLA) that will ensure the highest levels of construction while delivering real benefits to local communities.
Conscientious tracking and reporting such as this is an important part of leadership.
We see this as an opportunity to further model the policy’s spirit. Even where procurement timing for legacy projects does not allow all elements to be accommodated, SVCE can:
● Document and report in future staff materials how projects — including pre-policy projects — align with each of the policy’s key areas, including targeted hire, early-stage community engagement, environmental stewardship, technology diversity, and GHG impact.
● Encourage developers to voluntarily incorporate these elements where feasible during the project’s remaining development and operations phases.
By documenting and reporting this information, and by encouraging voluntary alignment for pre-policy projects, SVCE sends a clear and consistent signal that these standards are central to SVCE’s procurement culture.
We thank you for your leadership and for recognizing that workforce, environmental stewardship, and community engagement are integral to best value procurement.
Sincerely,
Eric Veium, Tim Frank, & Leslie Austin
Co-Directors, CCA Workforce & EJ Alliance