SAN JOSÉ CLEAN ENERGY
POWER WORKFORCE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
STEWARDSHIP PROJECT
SELECTION CRITERIA
May 13, 2025
Lori Mitchell, Director
Paul Innamorato, Deputy Director of Power Resources
Jeanne Sole, Principal Power Resource Specialist
Scott Green, Senior Government Affairs Manager
NEW RENEWABLE AND RELIABILITY PROJECTS
Since 2019, SJCE has contracted for over
1 gigawatt (GW) of new renewable energy
and storage resources including:
• Community solar
• Firm delivery solar
• Solar paired with storage
• Geothermal
• Wind
• Stand-alone energy storage
2 BACKGROUND
3 February 2024:
• City Council directed staff to explore feasibility of incorporating labor related provisions presented by IBEW into future agreements.
1. The Project shall comply with California prevailing wage provisions applicable to public works projects, including but not limited to the Labor Code sections pertaining to employment of apprentices on public works projects.
2. All construction work that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades shall be performed by a skilled and trained workforce in accordance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.
3. Work done under a multi-craft project labor agreement shall be deemed to meet the requirements of payment of prevailing wages and use of apprentices and shall supersede the skilled and trained workforce requirement.
4. For projects that do not implement a multi-craft project labor agreement, developer shall submit monthly reports to the agency showing compliance with payment of prevailing wages, compliance with skilled and trained workforce requirements and to document employment of apprentices.
SCOPE AND PRINCIPLES OF PROPOSED SELECTION CRITERIA
4 • Scope:
• Address concerns raised by labor as well as groups advocating for environmental quality and environmental justice.
• Apply to agreements 10 or more years that provide for construction or substantial modification of facilities.
• Principles:
• Support risk minimization of projects through greater community engagement. • Maintain flexibility for Department to achieve regulatory requirements. • Avoid adversely impacting the Departments ability to meet affordability and reliability objectives.
• Ensure that the criteria can be implemented given Department resources and aligns with other City polices.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS
5 Initial Meetings
&
Criteria
Framework
Design
Initial Criteria
Development
Stakeholder
Engagement*
Draft Criteria
• Stakeholder Criteria
Review & Comment
Period
• Additional
Stakeholder
Discussions
• Community Advisory
Committee Support
Final
Recommendation
• Risk Oversight
Committee Approval
• Final Review with
Stakeholders
Staff Report to
Council
• Stakeholder Engagement:
• IBEW Local 332 and IBEW Local 1245
• Santa Clara and San Benito Building Trade
Council
• The Climate Center
• San Jose Community Energy Advocates
• SLO Climate Coalition
• CCA Workforce and EJ Alliance
• Sierra Club
• Construction Trades Workforce Institute
• California Environmental Justice Alliance
• Working Partnerships
• Surrounding Community Choice
Aggregators
CRITERIA OVERVIEW
6 Category Purpose
Workforce & Workforce
Development
Prioritize projects using a multi-trade Project Labor Agreement; bonus credit for workers local to Santa Clara county, workers within commuting distance of the project location and/or workers in a defined workforce pipeline program.
Location Prioritize projects located in California and connected to CAISO.
Environmental
Stewardship
Prioritize projects that avoid sensitive habitats and commit to a Habitat Conservation Plan when applicable.
Community Engagement Prioritize projects that invest in low-income and environmental justice communities and have defined engagement plans.
Reporting Energy Department will report project selection scoring and require developers to report on performance within 90 days of achieving commercial operations.
Application & Weighting
Weighting determined on an RFP-by-RFP basis depending on regulatory and portfolio needs. Staff will report on scoring when projects are presented to Council for approval.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Accept the staff report on San José Clean Energy Power Workforce and Environmental Stewardship Project Selection Criteria.
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