San Diego Community Power opens second Solar Advantage solicitation for disadvantaged‑community solar

San Diego Community Power launched its second solicitation for the Solar Advantage program — the local brand for the California Public Utilities Commission’s Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff (DAC‑GT) — on April 7 and invited developers to submit offers through an online portal by Sept. 8, 2025, 5 p.m. Pacific, the agency said during a bidder webinar.

"San Diego Community Power is a not for profit public agency formed in 2019," said Tessa Tobar, subject matter expert for the Solar Advantage program at San Diego Community Power. Tobar told webinar attendees the agency purchases renewable energy on behalf of member communities and does not own or operate the distribution grid, which remains the responsibility of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).

The solicitation seeks projects that will serve residential customers who live in disadvantaged communities (as defined by CalEPA’s CalEnviroScreen 4) and who are enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) or the Family Electric Rate Assistance program (FERA). Eligible customers receive the DAC‑GT product and an additional 20 percent reduction in the electricity and delivery portion of their bill; Tobar said that discount, combined with CARE or FERA, will amount to roughly a 50 percent overall bill reduction for eligible customers.

Why it matters: Community solar under DAC‑GT is intended to extend renewable benefits to households in census tracts that score high on CalEnviroScreen metrics. San Diego Community Power said the CPUC allocated the agency about 20 megawatts of DAC‑GT capacity (the presentation referenced both "20.6 megawatts" and later "20.16"), and the current solicitation aims to procure the remaining capacity after subtracting 4.61 megawatts awarded in an earlier solicitation — roughly 15 megawatts and an estimated 7,000 customers to be auto‑enrolled from this RFO’s output, the webinar said.

Key eligibility and technical requirements outlined by San Diego Community Power staff include: - Project siting within SDG&E service territory and within 5 miles of a qualifying disadvantaged community census tract; projects may be sited up to 5 miles outside DAC boundaries to increase land availability. - New, RPS‑eligible, front‑of‑meter projects sized between 500 kilowatts and 15 megawatts. - Interconnection under SDG&E’s Wholesale Distribution Access Tariff. - Commercial operation no later than Dec. 31, 2028. - Optional paired battery storage considered; paired storage offers should include a PV‑only baseline price and separate pricing for storage as an option.

The agency summarized submission and procedural rules: all questions must be submitted through the RFO’s online question form (questions due by 5 p.m. Pacific on May 6, with answers posted May 19), offers must be submitted through the online submissions portal by Sept. 8, and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) template in the solicitation documents controls in case of discrepancy with webinar statements. "This RFO is a solicitation for offers only and is not intended as an offer to enter into a contract," Tobar said.

Financial and performance terms flagged for bidders included a 20‑year term, fixed pricing only (no escalators), and security deposits of $90 per kilowatt pre‑COD for development security and $60 per kilowatt for performance security post‑COD during the operational term. Guaranteed production requirements were described as 80 percent per year of proposed production with a two‑year true‑up period (the presentation described this as "160% of annual proposed production over a 2 year evaluation period").

Morgan Adam, senior local development manager, outlined evaluation criteria: price, development readiness and team experience, community benefits and outreach, workforce development (including prevailing wage and local hires), and environmental considerations (including preference for previously disturbed land and mitigation commitments). Offers will be reviewed holistically; the agency said it will award up to the remaining program capacity (about 15 megawatts) to the highest‑scoring offers against those criteria.

The webinar also described required submission materials: a completed offer workbook (spreadsheet) for each distinct project, a financing plan and two years of financial statements for the bidder or guarantor, an ownership org chart, interconnection documentation or a narrative plan, a permitting narrative and site plan with parcel numbers and sensitive areas noted, a single‑line electrical diagram, and a project schedule/Gantt chart. Staff emphasized that proposals should be realistic, avoid speculative or highly conditional offers, and be clear about ownership and scheduling coordinator choices.

On supplier diversity, Tobar noted CCAs must report spend with diverse businesses per CPUC General Order 156; proposers who are awarded contracts will be asked to voluntarily disclose their certification status with the CPUC Clearinghouse. All Q&As and updates will be posted publicly on the solicitation webpage.

Next steps and timeline presented during the webinar: the RFO launched April 7; questions are due May 6 (responses published May 19); the submission deadline is Sept. 8; Community Power will shortlist developers, negotiate and finalize agreements over roughly three months, then seek board approval and submit executed agreements to the CPUC for final approval. San Diego Community Power asked developers to check the Solar for Our Communities and solicitations pages for updates and to use only the online forms for questions and submissions.

No formal votes or contractual awards were taken during the webinar. Staff repeatedly instructed that the PPA template governs and that Community Power may accept or reject any or all offers at its sole discretion.

"We really appreciate it, and we are very excited to see the bids we receive," Tobar said to close the presentation.