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San Diego Community Power unveils draft strategy to procure 300 MW of distributed resources by 2035
Summary
Staff presented a high-level local development strategy aiming for 300 MW of distributed energy by 2035 (150 MW via programmatic efforts, 150 MW via local procurement), and outlined procurement pathways, interconnection challenges and equity and community engagement principles.
San Diego Community Power presented a public draft of its local development strategy on April 9, laying out goals, procurement options and community engagement expectations as the agency seeks to scale local solar and battery projects.
"We've set a strategic goal to achieve and procure 300 megawatts of distributed energy resources by 2035," said Lee Freriedman, associate director of strategic initiatives, who introduced the draft and its guiding principles. Staff said the 300 MW goal is split into two tranches: roughly 150 MW targeted through programmatic initiatives such as the Solar + Battery Savings program and 150 MW through direct local procurement.
Morgan Adams, senior manager of local renewable development, walked committee members through procurement pathways and a fundamental distinction staff uses between front-of-meter and behind-the-meter projects. "Interconnection is probably far and away the most impactful to feasibility," Adams said, describing how front-of-meter projects face interconnection and deliverability constraints but can provide large-scale resource adequacy and market benefits, while behind-the-meter projects typically interconnect faster, cost less and can provide load reduction and resilience but raise questions about cost shifting for the incumbent utility.
The draft emphasizes community-scale development, transparency, workforce development, ratepayer protection and equity. It lists vulnerabilities such as grid interconnection, operational limits and resource valuation and proposes targeted actions: direct engagement with SDG&E on interconnection hurdles, a heat map to identify high-opportunity locations, and tailored procurement pathways including feed-in tariffs, Solar Advantage (the DAC program) and public–private partnerships for large institutional campuses.
Committee members asked about coordination with member agencies, whether direct-access customers or large developers would prefer selling to Community Power, and whether regulatory or legislative changes are needed to ease interconnection. Staff said they are engaging member agencies and will consult their regulatory and legislative teams to identify potential statutory or policy fixes.
What's next: staff will bring more detailed procurement strategies and sector-level analyses to future CAC and board briefings, and will continue to develop the behind-the-meter procurement approach and a countywide heat map to prioritize sites for development.
