Contra Costa County is one of the nineteen Bay Area Participating Agencies in the Regional Renewable Energy Procurement (“R-REP”) project. Engaging in a collaborative procurement process for renewable energy leads to a reduction in renewable energy generation systems costs, transaction costs and administrative time, and enhanced leverage for public agencies in the negotiations of renewable energy systems. One of the main objectives of the R-REP solicitation was to achieve economies of scale through the collaborative procurement strategy. Contra Costa County will also benefit from the installation of renewable energy through sustained reductions in utility operating costs. In addition, the renewable energy projects will significantly contribute to achieving Contra Costa County’s Municipal Climate Action Plan targets for reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions from government operations.
As part of the preliminary work performed in preparation of the Request for Proposals ("RFP"), Participating Agencies conducted feasibility studies on sites to determine technical adequacy and financial benefit of installing solar power systems. Through this process, six sites were selected in Contra Costa County to be included in the RFP. They are:
• Juvenile Hall, 202 Glacier Drive, Martinez
• Sheriff Coroner – Forensic Science Center, 1960 Muir Road, Martinez
• Office of Emergency Services, 50 Glacier Drive, Martinez
• Sheriff Patrol and Investigation, 1980 Muir Road, Martinez
• Public Works, 255 Glacier Drive, Martinez
• West County Health Center, 13601 San Pablo Avenue, San Pablo
As part of the R-REP process, bidders were required to show prices for both a power purchase option and direct purchase option for each site. This information was provided to the Finance Committee on May 29, 2014, and the Committee approved a direct purchase approach on all six sites.
On July 8, 2014, the Board of Supervisors awarded a construction contract to Team-Solar, Inc., a wholly subsidiary of SunEdison, Inc. ("Team Solar") in the amount of $5,306,959 for the subject project. A utility interconnection agreement between the County and PG&E is required for each of the County facilities' solar power projects. This is because the solar system will tie back to the utility grid and the Agreements establish the conditions under which the utility will provide service. The Agreements also establish the net energy metering arrangement for solar generating facilities so that power produced is credited to the County at retail electric rates. Net energy metering is an important component to making these projects cost effective. The Juvenile Detention Center Interconnection Agreement will allow PG&E to interconnect the solar system to the facility through one interconnection point instead of two. This reduces installation costs while still benefiting from the power produced.
If the Agreement is not executed, the solar systems cannot be tied into the utility grid and the projects cannot proceed.