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Supervisors approve 25-year solar power deal for Sunset Reservoir after heated debate
Summary
The Board of Supervisors on May 12 approved a 25-year power purchase and site-lease agreement with Recurrent Energy to build a rooftop solar photovoltaic plant at Sunset Reservoir, rejecting a motion to send the item back to committee after extended debate over price, technology and future buyout costs.
The Board of Supervisors voted to adopt an ordinance approving a 25-year power purchase and site lease agreement with Recurrent Energy for a solar photovoltaic installation on the Sunset Reservoir rooftop and adjacent land.
Supporters said the project would add large-scale renewable generation to San Francisco’s portfolio while critics urged more vetting and competition. Supervisor Daly moved to refer the item back to the Budget and Finance Committee; that motion failed, and the ordinance passed on final reading.
Why it matters: Supervisors debated the contract’s long-term costs, technology choices and buyout terms. Opponents said an alternate bidder using cadmium-telluride film panels (INEXCO) may offer lower long-term costs and a cheaper buyout at seven years; proponents said the Recurrent proposal met the RFP requirements, used crystalline panels and addressed public-safety and performance concerns.
Board debate focused on several technical and fiscal points: price per megawatt-hour, annual escalators in the power-purchase agreement, the projected city buyout cost at year seven and the comparative efficiency and safety of crystalline panels versus cadmium-telluride film. Supervisor Daly argued the alternate bidder’s indicative pricing could translate into substantially lower lifetime costs; Supervisor Marr and others pressed PUC staff on whether cadmium-telluride panels posed an unacceptable hazard if broken above a water reservoir. PUC General Manager Ed Harrington told the board the INEXCO bid included multiple sites to reach 5 MW and that INEXCO’s pricing was “indicative and not firm.”
PUC and project staff also told supervisors that Recurrent met the RFP requirements and that the financing structure makes the early buyout price reflect remaining obligations on debt rather than “fair market” resale value. Supporters, including supervisors who cited work by the BlueGreen coalition and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, argued the deal offered local job targets and an ability to move quickly on a large project.
The board rejected the motion to refer back to committee (5–6) and later passed the ordinance on final reading (7–4). The ordinance authorizes the 25-year PPA and site lease with Recurrent Energy for the rooftop installation at Sunset Reservoir.
What’s next: The PUC will implement the contract under the terms approved. Supervisors who opposed the measure left on record concerns about escalation clauses, buyout calculations, material-price declines since the RFP and the need for further technical review of cadmium-telluride technology.
Sources: Board debate and roll-call votes at the May 12 Board of Supervisors meeting; remarks by Supervisor Daly, Supervisor Marr and Ed Harrington, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
