Board delays vote on 25-year Sunset Reservoir solar power purchase agreement after weeks of debate

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 10–1 to continue for one week consideration of a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and site lease ordinance that would allow Recurrent Energy to finance, build and operate a 5-megawatt photovoltaic system on the rooftop of the North Storage Basin Reservoir.

Supervisor Chu introduced the ordinance as a PUC-led, competitively bid proposal that would add roughly 5 megawatts of solar capacity to the city's portfolio under a 25-year contract. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the vendor would bear up-front construction costs; the city would agree to purchase the electricity under long-term payments, with the arrangement structured so the private partner could claim a 30 percent federal investment tax credit.

The measure drew extended questioning and a series of amendments and clarifications requested by multiple supervisors. Supervisor Campos and others pressed the PUC and the vendor on several issues: the timing and public availability of the final PPA filing; a proposed waiver of the Board's annual appropriation authority for…