Community Solar in OregonDesign and Outlook
October 18, 2019
Charlie Coggeshall
EQ Research, LLC
Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association
Coalition for Community Solar Access
Community Solar – How it Works
SEPA
Program Design - Big Picture
• Legislation passed in 2016 (SB 1547)
• Rules adopted June 2017 (860-088-00100)
• 160+ MW in “initial capacity tier”
• PGE – 93MW; PAC – 63MW; IDP – 3MW
• Projects limited to 25 kW - 3 MW in size
• Project Manager eligibility
• Third-party developers and utilities
Program Implementation: Remaining Timeline
Policy Elements• October 22 - Staff and Stakeholders make case for policy elements at PUC public meeting• October 29 - PUC special meeting to deliberate and decide policy issues
Program Implementation Manual (PIM)• November 18 - A final draft of the PIM is posted for public comment and PUC review• December 3 – Staff present PIM to PUC (opportunity for stakeholder comment)
Program Launch (target)• (September 30 – Project Manager Registration open)• December 4 - Program opens the pre-certification application website• December 16 - Project Managers may start submitting pre-certification applications
Customer Participation
• All customer types eligible, but: • At least 50% of project capacity reserved
for residential and/or small commercial• At least 10% of project capacity reserved
for low-income customers• Min. 20% subscription discount
• Participation options:• Direct ownership• Subscription (minimum 10 years)
• Individual limits:• Cannot exceed avg. annual usage,
and ≤ 40% of project capacity• 2 MW max. for one customer; and
up to 4 MW for “affiliated”
Project Certification Requirements
Pre-Certification
• Project details
• Interconnection documentation (payment submitted for SIS)
• Non-ministerial permits
• Documentation of acquisition approach, proposed marketing materials, low-income strategy, and proposed forms/contracts
Certification
• Minimum 50% subscribed
• At least 5 participants
• Compliance with low-income requirements
• Constructed/inspected
• 6 months to interconnect/operate
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Project Manager Registration
• Available now
• Requires ongoing compliance with “standard of conduct”
Maximum of 18 months
Program Administration
• Program Administrator• Energy Solutions (prime) and ETO (sub)• Develops Implementation Manual • Processes pre-cert. and cert. applications
and provides initial review prior to PUC review
• Facilitates data and financial flow
• Low-income Facilitator• Community Energy Project• Reports to the Program Administrator• Liaison/supporter for program to achieve
low-income targets
• Utilities• Apply credits on participant bills• Receives subscription payments from
participants and passes through to PA
Capacity Allocation & Credit Rate (proposed)
Administrative Costs (proposed)
Utility75% of
Tier (MW)General (MW)
Small or Non-
profit or Gov't
(MW)
Rate ($/kWh)
20-yr
Levelized
(2.18% esc.)
PGE 69.86 52.40 17.47 $ 0.11234 $ 0.13895
PAC 48.45 36.34 12.11 $ 0.09770 $ 0.12084
IPC 2.45 1.84 0.61 $ 0.08480 $ 0.10489
Fee Type/Duration Fee
Application Fee ($/kW-DC) $ 5.00
Ongoing Participant Fee ($/kW-DC/month)
*Note – this is not applied to low-income participants
$ 1.50
Interconnection Proposals
Recommendation #1: Streamlined CSP interconnection process• Process
• Eligible CSP requests will be studied separately from traditional serial queue • Interconnection study would limit scope, comparable to Energy Resource (ER)
• Eligibility criteria• The proposed generator, together with all other interconnected and requested
generation in the local area, is less than 100% of minimum daytime load (MDL) • If MDL is not available for the feeder, use 30% of summer peak load
*Based on 30% screening level - Klamath County has about 30 MW of available capacity, with: 2 feeders that could handle a 2-3 MW project; 13 feeders for 1-2 MW; 7 feeders for 361-999 kW; and 7 feeders for <361 kW
Interconnection Proposals
• Recommendation #2: Initial models for cost-sharing between generators
• Recommendation #3: 360 kW or less to meter on the low side of the transformer
• Recommendation #4: RFI for third-party expert interconnection study review services
• Recommendation #5: Enhanced pre-application report for non-profit/public PMs • Can request 5 sites in single request, at no cost
• Recommendation #6: PacifiCorp to provide additional information on the process to address the backlog of interconnection applications (i.e., outside Recommendation #1)
How to stay involved
• Track the PUC Docket: UM 1930
• Review Draft PIM Chapters and provide comments via the Program Administrator’s Stakeholder Engagement Website -https://orcsplaunch.wordpress.com
• Register to become a Project Manager and learn more about program requirements via the Program website - https://www.oregoncsp.org
• Join OSEIA! We have weekly member updates and a Community Solar Committee that meets bi-monthly. https://www.oseia.org/join We have government and non-profit rates.
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