Help expand the availability of local renewable energy resources through Local Solar!

Local Solar is Clean Energy Alliance’s (CEA) feed-in tariff (FIT) program for smaller-scale renewable energy projects. Energy produced by the sites would be sold to CEA and sent to the grid for community use.

To participate, interested organizations must apply through the process outlined below; in the initial phase of this program, CEA will approve a maximum of four projects totaling up to 2MW of solar generating capacity.

Eligibility 

Eligible projects must: 

  • Have an intended minimum project size of 500kW (approximately 3 acres of ground and/or rooftop space), and a maximum project size of up to 1 MW. 
  • Be a California Energy Commission-certified renewable generating resource
  • Be a new build project
  • Be located within CEA’s service territory, a CEA customer and able to connect to the SDG&E grid
  • Transfer renewable energy certificates to CEA
  • Deliver under a non-negotiable 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with a base price of $85/MWh
  • Submit an application with a deposit of $500; a position in CEA’s FIT queue will be established only upon acceptance of a complete application
Additional Criteria:
  • Financial bonus:
    • Projects with co-located battery storage (at least 0.5kW storage for 1kW of generating capacity) are eligible for a $15/MWh bonus during the first five years of delivery term
  • Queue position bonus (FIT queue priority given to projects):
    • Previously developed site (limiting environmental impact to undeveloped sites)
    • Development is consistent with CEA’s Inclusive & Sustainable Workforce Policy (local business/local hires/local apprenticeship programs used, prevailing wage)
    • Project has a tendered Interconnection Agreement

Application Process

Interested in applying? Here are your next steps: 

  • If you are a site owner, consider partnering with an experienced renewable energy project developer to submit an application. Please contact procurement@thecleanenergyalliance.org for information on local developers who may be interested in partnerships. 
  • Review the CEA FIT Schedule and PPA linked below to understand the program requirements and eligibility prior to starting the application.
  • Complete all sheets in the Local Solar Application. If you answer any question with N/A, please explain why it does not apply to your project.
    • Complete all cells highlighted in yellow and provide complete information for each field.

Email completed applications and questions to procurement@thecleanenergyalliance.org. 

Frequently Asked Questions

CEA’s NEM programs (Personal Impact and Solar Impact) allow customers to generate their own solar or wind power at their home or business. Excess electricity produced by their renewable energy systems is sent back to the grid; this energy production is tracked by their personal energy meter, and can offset their energy costs.

CEA’s FIT program, Local Solar, is designed to facilitate wholesale energy production for customers interested in building small-scale renewable energy sites on their property. All energy produced by FIT projects would be sold to CEA at a competitive price and sent to the grid for community use.

CEA’s Local Solar program allows developers of local renewable energy projects to sell their energy to CEA for customer use. Projects must be located in CEA’s service area — this process incentivizes the creation and maintenance of local renewable energy resources, strengthening CEA’s grid and helping member cities achieve their climate action plan goals. Once the project developer enters into a contract with CEA and connects their project to SDG&E’s distribution grid, CEA will compensate the developer in accordance with the FIT standard contract.

Potentially, yes. If your site is located in a good location to connect to the grid, developers may be able to pay you to lease some portion of your site for a project, which they would then build solar and storage on to participate in this CEA program. Please contact procurement@thecleanenergyalliance.org for information on local developers who may be interested in partnerships.

CEA’s FIT Power Purchase Agreement is a standard, non-negotiable, long-term contract created for the purpose of streamlining CEA power purchases from these smaller-scale projects. CEA’s FIT PPA can be accessed on this webpage.

SDG&E is the contact for all matters related to grid interconnection. In order for Local Solar applications to be approved, the project/project developer must receive an executed interconnection agreement from SDG&E.

Following submission of an FIT application to CEA, a CEA staff member will partner with you throughout the FIT process

If you have questions related to project grid connection, SDG&E provides additional information and resources here.

Yes. Project developers are responsible for partnering with local planning authorities throughout the construction process.The FIT applicant must obtain all necessary permits from appropriate jurisdictional agencies and shall maintain such permits, as may be required, for the duration of the FIT PPA. CEA partners with local governments in its service area, but does not have the authority to provide the necessary permits for these FIT projects.

The Eligible Resource must be new, meaning that the Eligible Resource must not have produced or delivered electric energy prior to the date on which its Application is received by CEA. 

It must qualify and be certified by the California Energy Commission (“CEC”) as an Eligible Renewable Energy Resource (“ERR”) as such term is defined in California Public Utilities Code Section 399.12 or Section 399.16, and as described in the most current edition of the CEC’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (“RPS”) Eligibility Guidebook (“Guidebook”), as may be amended or supplemented from time to time. The Eligible Resource must use a fuel source permitted under California’s current RPS program, as further described in the Guidebook, including but not limited to the following (it may include non-GHG-emitting energy storage in a hybrid facility arrangement): Biomass, Biodiesel, fuel cells using renewable fuels, digester gas, landfill gas, municipal solid waste, ocean wave, ocean thermal, tidal current, solar photovoltaic, small hydroelectric, solar thermal, wind, and geothermal.