2024 Clean Energy and Reliability Request for Offers

CPA’s Clean Energy and Reliability RFO seeks offers from the following product categories: 

1. Renewable Generation Only Contracts:
   
   • Mid-term Reliability (MTR) Eligible Baseload/Firm Renewable Energy: Zero emissions generation capacity or capacity that is eligible under the requirements of California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program and has an expected annual capacity factor of at least 80%. The resources must not be use-limited or weather-dependent and must meet all requirements for Baseload/Firm renewable energy under the CPUC Mid-Term Reliability Decision 21-06-035. No storage projects shall qualify under this product category. Projects in this category should have a generation size of 5 MW – 500 MW and a commercial operation date (COD) no later than June 1, 2031¹, PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
   
   • Regular RPS Resources: RPS-eligible generation (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal), 15 MW – 500 MW² in size. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030¹. CPA has a strong preference for projects with an earlier COD. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.

    

2. Renewable Generation Plus Storage Contracts: RPS-eligible generation (15 MW – 500 MW²) paired with storage projects (15 MW – 500 MW²). The storage duration must be at least 4 hours and the capacity cannot exceed 100% of the generation nameplate capacity. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030¹. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.

    

3. Standalone Storage Contracts: Stand-alone storage projects with a storage capacity of 15 MW – 500 MW². The storage duration must be for at least 4 hours. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030¹. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.

    

4. RA Only Contracts: RA-only projects from storage, thermals, or other qualifying resources with a capacity between 15 MW – 500 MW². Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. PPA tenor must be between 5 and 15 years.

    

5. PCC1 Energy Only (fixed price or index plus) Contracts: RPS-eligible generation (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal), 15 MW – 500 MW² in size, offered as PCC1 Energy Only fixed price or index+ contracts. Projects in this category must have a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. CPA has a strong preference for projects with an earlier COD. PPA tenor must be between 5 and 20 years.

    

6. Dispatchable Thermal Energy with RA Contracts:
   
   • Existing Dispatchable Gas projects (with RA) paired with storage: These may include gas fired generation resources such as CC, CT, RICE, CHP, or ST projects that are paired with storage (minimum 1 hour) in order to reduce greenhouse gas and emissions that impact local air quality. The project size must be at least 10 MW with a commercial operation date no later than December 31, 2030. The PPA tolling tenor must be between 2 and 10 years.
   
   • Existing Dispatchable Gas projects (with RA) running on blended fuels: These may include gas fired generation resources such as CC, CT, RICE, CHP, or ST projects that use a green hydrogen or renewable biogas blend in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

¹ Projects with CAISO Queue Cluster 15 (QC 15) interconnection applications will follow the same format as all other submittals and will not be subject to a limit on the COD they may propose.

² The minimum system size for individual locally sited renewable generation and/or energy storage projects located in Los Angeles or Ventura counties is 5 MW. CPA will not accept the aggregation of multiple projects to achieve the minimum size requirement.