Thursday, May 30, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Corporate Pointe at West Hills
8521 Fallbrook
West Hills, CA 91304

Presented by the Los Angeles Business Council, LA Department of Water and Power, and LA City Councilmember Mitchell Englander

How the 100MW Program works: The Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved the 100-megawatt CLEAN LA Solar Set Pricing Program as the first component of a 150- megawatt FiT Program. The program will be released in five allocations of 20 megawatts each. The remaining 50MW will be developed as a bundled project as a part of the LADWP’s Beacon Solar Project. More details on this tranche are below.

Applications for the 100MW set pricing program are reviewed based on their queue position on the Review Priority List. Eligible projects will be offered a standard 20-year contract that requires LADWP to purchase the solar power at a set price: Projects in LA City will be contracted at a rate starting at 17 cents per kilowatt-hour; projects in Owens Valley will be contracted at a rate of 14 cents per kilowatt-hour.

How the 50MW Bundled Program works: The LADWP expects to release the Requests for Proposal for the 50MW bundled Beacon Solar Project in May of 2013. This Bundled Program is located on the LADWP’s property in the city of Cantil, CA. Each developer participating in the Bundled Program within the Beacon Project will be required to reach installment milestones of one-third of their MW obligation by December 31, 2014, two-thirds of their MW obligation by December 31, 2015, and the total obligation by December 31, 2016.

Update on the first 20 MW tranche: In February of 2013, the LADWP opened bidding for the first 20 MW of the CLEAN LA Solar program and was met with strong enthusiasm from customers and solar power developers. Applications for over 107 megawatts (MW) of potential solar projects were submitted for an available 20MW, making the program oversubscribed by 500% in its first round. The applications submitted include 2 MWs of capacity for 22 smaller solar projects ranging from 30 kW to 150 kW, and 105 MWs for 76 larger projects that range from 151 kWh to 3 MW. These projects were dispersed throughout the City of Los Angeles as well as the Owens Valley, where LADWP provides electrical service to several local communities. Of the projects located in the City of LA, about 60% of the projects were located in the San Fernando Valley and the rest were distributed throughout the city.

Impact on local investment: We are already experiencing an economic impact in Los Angeles. One shining example can be found in the firm Solar Provider Group. This firm has announced plans to significantly expand its investment in this city by moving their global headquarters to Los Angeles. The company’s LA headquarters will serve as its base of operations as it evaluates additional investments throughout California and the Western U.S. Over the next year, their new office will hire roughly 30 additional employees in sales, engineering and construction, creating new, high-quality, local jobs. To date, Solar Provider Group has already invested more than $1 million in Los Angeles during the program’s demonstration phase, and plans to invest up to $50 million by the end of 2016, thus validating the argument that the CLEAN LA Solar program is indeed a stimulus to the local economy.

Economic impact: It is estimated that the full 150-megawatt program will produce 4,300 jobs over the next several years and garner over $500 million worth of private investment.

Workshops: The Los Angeles Business Council and LADWP will host various workshops for property owners, solar developers, workforce professionals, and financial institutions. The workshops will focus on how to participate in both the Fixed Rate and Bundled program and will allow for attendees to network with potential business partners. The first workshop will take place on Thursday, May 30, 2013 from 2:00-4:00pm in the San Fernando Valley and will be hosted by Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander.

Learn more about the work of LABC and our coalition partners in making this groundbreaking program a reality

The first 20 MWs of the program received 98 applications for 107 MWs worth of projects!

This is a very positive and overwhelming response to the culmination of four years of hard work. LA now has the largest urban solar program in the US. Click here to see the press release from LADWP.

The Call for Entries can be found here.

Submit your outstanding projects for the Design Awards here.

Please take a moment to review our Fact Sheet & FAQ for more details about the submission process & a comprehensive list of all Categories & Sub-Categories.

Winners will be recognized and awarded at the LAAA Luncheon on June 5, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The event will begin with a Winners Exhibition Reception & guests can take home a commemorative print publication of all the selected projects of the year. Learn about our Sponsorship Opportunities or Table Sponsor rates to attend the Luncheon.

For further questions or assistance please contact Princess Thomas, Policy & Program Coordinator: pthomas@labusinesscouncil.org # 310. 226. 7460

Applications for 107 MW of Potential Local Solar Projects Received During Feed-in Tariff Program’s Opening Week

LOS ANGELES — The opening week of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s new Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program met with strong enthusiasm from customers and solar power developers who submitted applications for 107 megawatts (MW) of potential solar projects, ranging in size and located widely across the City and in LADWP’s service area in the Owens Valley.

On February 1, LADWP began accepting applications for the first 20-MW allocation of the 100 MW FiT Program for renewable energy projects ranging in size from 30 kilowatts (kW) to 3 MW. The applications submitted during the first five business days received their place on the FiT Review Priority List by a public lottery that occurred on Friday, February 8th. Applications received after Friday will be added to the queue in the order received.  Projects will undergo review and technical screening in the order listed.

“We are very pleased by the enthusiastic response we’ve seen so far to the FiT Program, which paves the way for a robust local market and jobs for solar energy,” said Ronald O. Nichols, LADWP General Manager.

“It is important to note that project submittal is the first step and while not all of the proposed projects will be feasible, it is a tremendous response to the program,” said Aram Benyamin, Senior Assistant General Manager – Power System.  “We expect  that following the project review that will take place over the coming months, the first FiT projects will be on their way toward  generating 20 MW of renewable solar energy for Los Angeles.”

Approved in January by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, the LADWP FiT Program allows customers, solar companies, and other third parties to develop solar or other eligible renewable energy projects within LADWP’s service territory and sell all the power to LADWP at a set price for distribution on the city’s power grid.

The applications submitted so far for FiT projects include 2 MWs of capacity for 22 smaller solar projects ranging from 30 kW to 150 kW, and 105 MWs for 76 larger projects that range from 151 kWh to 3 MW. These projects were dispersed throughout the City of Los Angeles as well as the Owens Valley, where LADWP provides electrical service to several local communities. Of the projects located in the City of LA, about 60% of the projects were located in the San Fernando Valley; however the rest of the City was also well represented.

Applications will be reviewed based on their queue position on the FiT Review Priority List for up to 20 MW over the next five months.  Eligible projects will be offered a standard 20-year contract that requires LADWP to purchase the solar power at a set price, starting at 17 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first 20 MW; Owens Valley projects will be at 14 cents per kilowatt-hour, with the price difference reflecting the added cost of transmission from the Owens Valley area to Los Angeles for solar facilities proposed in that location.

Subsequent 20-MW allocations will be made available every six months through 2016 until the full 100 MW is subscribed. The set price will decline after each 20 MW is reserved.

Based on input from the solar community, business leaders and other stakeholders, the program was designed to set aside a prescribed amount of reserved capacity for small and large projects. Each allocation will set aside 4 MWs for small projects ranging from 30 kW to 150 kW. The remaining 16 MWs will be available for large projects up to 3 MW. Additionally, the amount of capacity for projects located in LADWP’s Owens Valley service area is limited to 4 MW for the entire 100 MW program.

For more information, visit www.ladwp.com/fit.