Offers due Monday, January 30, 2023 at 5 p.m. Pacific Prevailing Time (PPT)
Overview
Peninsula Clean Energy is excited to launch this 2023 Renewable Energy and Storage Request for Offers (RFO). Peninsula Clean Energy is soliciting competitive proposals for the purchase of renewable energy and storage contracts to fulfill our energy goals, specifically Peninsula Clean Energy’s goal to serve our customers’ electricity needs with renewable energy on an hourly basis by 2025.
The goal of this 2023 Request for Offers for Renewable Energy + Storage (“RFO”) is to provide a competitive, objectively administered opportunity for suppliers to propose projects to fulfill Peninsula Clean Energy’s desire for renewable and storage resources that have a commercial on-line date of January 1, 2029 or sooner. Peninsula Clean Energy has a preference for projects that can start operating before December 31, 2025.
As part of this RFO, Peninsula Clean Energy seeks renewable energy and/or storage projects that meet the eligibility criteria defined in the CPUC Mid-Term Reliability Procurement Order (MTR Order). Peninsula Clean Energy is seeking 10 MW of capacity that qualifies as Long Duration Storage (8 hour or longer) and can be online preferably by June 1, 2026 or by June 1, 2028. Further, Peninsula Clean Energy is seeking 22 MW of Net Qualifying Capacity (NQC) that qualifies as Tranche 1 general capacity (2023) and can be online on or before August 1, 2023. Peninsula Clean Energy is also interested in eligible capacity that can be online preferably on or before August 1, 2023, or on or before June 1, 2024, or June 1, 2025, including those that qualify as “zero-emitting resources” pursuant to Order Paragraph 6 of the MTR Order.
RFO schedule
| Event | Date |
| Issue RFO | Friday, December 16, 2022 |
| Deadline to submit questions prior to webinar | Friday, January 6, 2023 |
| Participant webinar to discuss RFO process | Tuesday, January 10, 2023 |
| Q&A posted to website | Friday, January 13, 2023 |
| Deadline to submit questions | Friday, January 20, 2023 |
| Final Q&A addendum posted to website | Tuesday, January 24, 2023 |
| Deadline to submit RFO proposals | Monday, January 30, 2023; 5 PM PPT |
| Participants notified of shortlist status | Tuesday, February 28, 2023 |
| Power purchase agreement and awards | Q2-Q3 2023 |
RFO materials
- RFO instructions (pdf) (Updated January 13, 2023)
- Q&A Addendum (pdf) (Updated on January 24, 2023)
- Attachment 1: Offer form (xlsx) (Updated on January 24, 2023)
- Attachment 2a: Renewable energy only pro forma (docx) (Posted on January 18, 2023)
- Attachment 2b: Renewable energy and storage pro forma (docx) (Posted on January 18, 2023)
- Attachment 2c: Storage only pro forma (docx) (Posted on January 18, 2023)
- Attachment 2d: Shaped offers pro forma (docx) (Posted on January 18, 2023)
- Attachment 3: Instructions for geospatial footprint (pdf)
- Attachment 4: Supplier diversity questionnaire (docx)
- Attachment 5: Exclusivity agreement (pdf)
- Attachment 6: Non-Disclosure Agreement (pdf)
- Attachment 6: Non-Disclosure Agreement (doc)
Communications
All RFO documents are available on the Peninsula Clean Energy website at: www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/solicitation/2023-rfo-for-renewable-energy-storage. All announcements, updates and Q&As will be posted on the website.
All communications regarding this RFO should be sent to the RFO email at: PenCleanEnergyRFO@peninsulacleanenergy.com.
Please send communications only to the RFO email and not to the individual contacts’ email addresses. Emails sent to individual contacts and not to the RFO email may not be reviewed or responded to.
Webinar
Peninsula Clean Energy will host an informational webinar on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 from 11 AM – 12:30 PM PPT.
Register for the webinar here.
Download slides
Watch recording
Submission and posting of Q&A
Questions are due no later than Friday January 20, 2023 at 5 p.m. PPT. Respondents are encouraged to submit questions concerning the RFO.
All questions must be submitted through the form posted here. Bidders are urged to submit RFO questions to Peninsula Clean Energy as early as possible, in consideration of the proposal submission deadlines. Questions submitted by Friday January 6, 2023, will be answered during the webinar.
Peninsula Clean Energy intends to post all questions submitted by bidders before and after the webinar, as well as responses to those questions, in the form of an Addendum posted to the RFO website. Responses to questions answered during the webinar will be posted following the webinar. Answers to any questions that are received after the webinar will be posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2023. All addenda shall become part of this RFO. All questions will be posted anonymously, to shield the identity of bidders who posed the questions. Peninsula Clean Energy’s objective in posting questions and answers is to afford bidders equal access to information potentially relevant to their proposals.
Bid submittal
Respondents’ offers must be submitted by Monday January 30, 2023, 5 p.m. PPT. Offers must include the required documents described in the RFO instructions (see RFO materials, above). All proposals must meet the requirements of the RFO to be considered. However, Peninsula Clean Energy reserves the right to waive any deficiency of an offer.
Only electronic submittals will be accepted via e-mail sent to PenCleanEnergyRFO@peninsulacleanenergy.com . Please include “Peninsula Clean Energy 2023 RFO offer from [Company Name]” in the subject line. Late proposals shall be rejected. This deadline is absolute and proposals received after the due date and time shall not be considered.
About Peninsula Clean Energy
Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation agency. It is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and, beginning in 2022, for the City of Los Banos in Merced County. Founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the San Mateo County, the agency serves over 310,000 customer accounts by providing more than 3,600 gigawatt hours annually of electricity that is carbon-free and at a lower cost than PG&E. Peninsula Clean Energy plans for and secures commitments from a diverse portfolio of energy-generating resources to reliably serve the electric energy requirements of its customers over the near-, mid-, and long-term planning horizons. As a community-led, not-for-profit agency, Peninsula Clean Energy makes significant investments in our communities to expand access to sustainable and affordable energy solutions. Peninsula Clean Energy is on track to deliver electricity that is 100% renewable on a time-coincident basis by 2025.
In May 2019, Peninsula Clean Energy received an investment grade credit rating of Baa2 from Moody’s. In April 2020, it received an investment grade credit rating of BBB+ from Fitch. As of September 30, 2022, Peninsula Clean Energy had an unaudited total cash and investments balance of $188.6 million representing all restricted and unrestricted cash plus short-term and medium-term investments. Of the total, $188.3 million, or 99.8%, was unrestricted representing 295 days of cash on hand, significantly higher than Peninsula Clean Energy’s Board policy requirement of 180 days. Peninsula Clean Energy’s financial statements including its fiscal year 2021-2022 audited financials are available on its website at https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/key-documents/. For more information on Peninsula Clean Energy, please go to https://www.peninsulacleanenergy.com/
