Title
Chief Administrative Office, Facilities Division, recommending the Board:
1) Authorize the Facilities Manager to sign the PG&E Interconnection Agreement as related to the County’s Solar Project; and
2) Authorize the Facilities Manager to sign any future documents related to the Interconnection Agreement for the County's Solar Project pending County Counsel and Risk review and approval.
FUNDING: Accumulative Capital Outlay Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The County is considering financing two new solar photovoltaic projects through Power Purchase Agreements. One at the new Public Safety Facility and the other on County owned land adjacent to the PSF site. County Staff have worked closely with TerraVerde’s team to determine the preferred locations for the proposed solar photovoltaic systems and energy storage system. Each project would require a separate Power Purchase Agreement tailored to the specifics of the project.
The Purchasing Agent (PA) signed Agreement for Services No. 317-S1810 on December 11, 2017, for $9,975 to assist in the submission of an interconnection application to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) along with some other ancillary tasks. An interconnection application is the first step in pursuing a cost saving solar project.
On September 11, 2018, the Board approved Amendment III to Agreement for Services No. 317-S1810 with TerraVerde Energy, LLC (TerraVerde) to increase compensation by $95,950 and extend the term an additional two years. Amendment III provides the additional services necessary to assist in the development, solicitation and review/analysis of a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
Integral to this process is submission of an Interconnection Agreement to PG&E now that the County’s Interconnection Application has been approved. A fee of $20,000 will be required along with submission of the Agreement. The Interconnection Agreement and payment of the above fee will commence PG&E’s engineering process of the future solar farm. PG&E will create a full estimate for future costs which will be included in the Power Purchase Agreement that will be brought back before the BOS sometime in the future.
ALTERNATIVES
The County could cease to pursue this solar project and the process would stop at this juncture. This action would result in the withdrawal of the interconnection applications submitted by TerraVerde on behalf of the County. The withdrawal of the interconnection applications would have a negative impact on potential savings from a solar project based on current PG&E rules and tariffs.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
NA
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
It is recommended that the Board approve this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY 2018-19 ACO budget includes $250,000 for solar projects. There is no general fund impact.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
NA
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Infrastructure
CONTACT
Russ Fackrell
Facilities Division Manager