Solar & Battery Regulation & Incentive Programs

Marin Clean Energy - Feed-In Tariff

Program Overview


Category:
Financial Incentive
Program Type:
Performance-Based Incentive
Implementing Sector:
Local
State:
California
Eligible Storage Technologies:
Geothermal Electric, Solar Thermal Electric, Solar Photovoltaics, Wind (All), Biomass, Municipal Solid Waste, Landfill Gas, Tidal, Wave, Ocean Thermal, Wind (Small), Hydroelectric (Small), Anaerobic Digestion, Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels
Website:
http://www.mcecleanenergy.org/feed-in-tariff/
Incentive Amount:
Varies by technology and position in program capacity queue
Terms:
20 years
Eligible System Size:
1 MW or smaller
Ownership of Renewable Energy Credits:
Marin Energy Authority
Administrator:
Marin Clean Energy
Applicable Sectors:
Commercial, Industrial, Local Government, Nonprofit, Residential, State Government, Federal Government, Multifamily Residential
Budget :
15 MW of projects
Last Updated:
06/17/2015

Summary

Assembly Bill 117, passed in 2002, allows communities in California to aggregate their load and to procure electricity from their own preferred sources. Under the authority of this law, California’s first community choice aggregator, Marin Clean Energy (MCE), was launched in May of 2010. The Marin Energy Authority comprises each city and town in Marin as well as the communities of Belvedere, Fairfax, Mill Valley, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon, and the County of Marin. The original legislation mandated that the customers of each supporting community would automatically be enrolled in Marin Clean Energy unless they chose not to participate by opting out.

Among the varied sources of renewable energy pursued by MCE are local installations of renewable energy. To streamline the procurement process for small local renewable energy systems, MCE has designed a feed-in tariff which provides long-term contracts to renewable energy system owners. The pricing for the tariff is determined by the total capacity remaining for the program before the contract is signed, and the characteristics of the renewable energy system:

  • Peak - 90% or more of the system's electric output is produced and delivered to MCE between the hours of 6:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M. Based on typical energy production profiles, solar technologies fall into this category.
  • Baseload - System typically generates electric output around the clock with an annual capacity factor greater than 75%. Based on typical energy production profiles, landfill gas, biomass and fuel cells fall into this category.
  • Intermittent - Energy delivery profile cannot be considered Peak or Baseload. Based on typical energy production profiles, wind energy systems fall into this category.

As shown in the table below, systems with a Peak Energy delivery profile earn the highest per-MWh payments, and prices will decline as more systems sign contracts:

Aggregate rated capacity of all participating
projects prior to contract execution		 Peak Energy Prices
(20 year term, $/MWh)		 Baseload Energy Prices
(20 year term, $/MWh)		 Intermittent Energy Prices
(20 year term, $/MWh)
 < 2 MW  $137.66  $116.49 $100.57
 > 2 MW, < 4 MW  $120.00  $105.00  $95.00
 > 4 MW, < 6 MW   $115.00  $100.00  $90.00
 > 6 MW, < 8 MW  $110.00  $95.00  $90.00
 > 8 MW, < 10 MW  $105.00  $95.00  $90.00
 > 10 MW, < 12 MW  $95.00  $95.00  $90.00
 > 12 MW, < 15 MW  $90.00  $90.00  $90.00

System owners obligated to sign a contract for a 20-year term. Individual projects are limited to 1 MW, and MEA will accept a total of 15 MW under this tariff unless MEA's Board of Directors votes to expand the program. Feed-in tariff participants are not eligible to participate in any net metering option for energy deliveries from the same facility.