Silicon Valley Clean Energy discusses joint procurement efforts, building electrification plan

Community choice aggregate Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) approved a USD 6m investment in building decarbonization Thursday.

The Building Decarbonization Joint Action Plan establishes electrification programs and initiatives for new and existing buildings as well as market development. As the aggregate moves towards providing 100 percent clean energy, the plan calls for streamlining electrification processes via legislative support, financial investments and expanding programs such as virtual power plants and heat pump replacements.

The new investment could mean even more procurement efforts from the aggregate, which was one of the organizers of a massive joint CCA procurement in 2020.

“Electrification is the key for building decarbonization, and it will mean more reliance on the electricity system,” the report states. “SVCE has been and continues to explore novel approaches to energy resilience at the micro and macro levels.”

The plan calls for developing new reach codes, adjusting public policy, establishing financing mechanisms and future-fitting existing buildings. SVCE also plans to hold stakeholder engagement meetings regarding the plan's efforts.

The decarbonization plan follows additional efforts from SVCE for holistic procurement and electrification efforts. In 2020, SVCE also adopted an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Joint Action Plan that calls for investing USD 14m in funding for EV charging. As of June, the CCA has established 384 MW of clean energy capacity with more procurement efforts on the way.

“Eleven of our thirteen communities have passed reach codes to advance all-electric new construction and electric vehicle readiness,” said Girish Balachandran, SVCE CEO. “SV Clean Energy wants to further support our communities by providing programs and funding to advance the equitable and cost-effective use of clean electricity in homes and buildings.”

SCVE is already in the midst of large-scale procurement efforts as one of the organizers of the joint RFP from eight CCAs for 500 MW of long-duration storage. While those results will not be announced until the second half of 2021, Balachandran said SVCE would continue looking at additional joint resource adequacy and procurement efforts this year. In the near term, the state and SVCE are also in the midst of emergency procurement and reliability efforts for summer resiliency following last year’s rolling blackouts.

Going forward, joint procurement efforts may be even more streamlined. Fellow CCAs Silicon Valley Energy, Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Peninsula Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power have already approved participation in California Community Power, a “joint powers agency made up of joint powers agencies” to continue joint procurement similar to the LDS RFP. All eight CCAs who participated in the LDS procurement were invited to participate.

“[In 2021] we’re looking to do joint procurement with other CCAs, as we’ve done other joint procurement in the past for resource adequacy as part of incremental requirements under the IRP mandates,” said Director of Power Resources at SVCE Monica Padilla. “So, I really see a lot more of what we’ve done before but in a more structured manner under the formation of CC Power.”