Mayor Newsom Announces Plan to Significantly Expand Solar, Renewable Energy Generation in San Francisco

Proposed Public-Private Partnerships Would Leverage State Legislation, Available Financing to Generate Nearly 35 Megawatts of Solar Power

San Francisco, CA - Mayor Gavin Newsom today proposed an unprecedented expansion of San Francisco’s solar and renewable energy resources, taking the first steps towards forming public-private partnerships that would leverage new state legislation and available financing mechanisms to boost solar generation from less than 2 megawatts today to nearly 35 megawatts in the future. The plan, announced at a Cleantech Forum reception Wednesday evening, invites the nation’s most innovative renewable energy companies to partner with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to facilitate and support the development of large-scale solar and other renewable energy resources on public and private property in the City.

"If we want to show real leadership in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and protecting our environment, we have to act boldly and we cannot act alone," said Mayor Newsom. "Our plan challenges the best and the brightest in the renewable energy field to join us in making San Francisco a laboratory for solar power and clean energy development."

Today the SFPUC issued a Request for Information (RFI) to private and public sector businesses and organizations soliciting information, advice and analyses on opportunities to finance and develop solar and other renewable energy resource projects in San Francisco. Among the opportunities and challenges outlined for respondents to the RFI and potential partners in the plan:

· Partnering with the SFPUC to facilitate the development of large amounts of solar power, including nearly 24 megawatts of photovoltaics on private property within the city, leveraging the provisions of California’s Million Solar Roofs Law (SB1), the California Solar Initiative (CSI), federal tax incentives and other available financing mechanisms. Currently, less than one megawatt of photovoltaics exist on private property in San Francisco.

· Developing solar power financial structures for municipal facilities that leverage the provisions of the new California Assembly Bill 2573. This law enables SFPUC to move power across PG&E’s local grid from municipal sources to municipal loads. The SFPUC estimates that up to ten megawatts of solar capacity may be developable on municipal property, up from less than two megawatts today.

· Examining the SFPUC’s solar capacity estimates, proposing estimates for other technologies and suggesting alternate estimates if knowledge of the market opportunities and deal structures support different estimates.

· Proposing ways to help the SFPUC finance renewable power systems on property owned by private-sector customers served by Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Direct Access Providers. All kinds of deal structures are open to consideration, from those where a property owner owns a system outright to those where a solar provider owns the system and sells power to a property owner.

· Describing deal structures, expected returns, various kinds of risk, credit issues, ownership structures, use of asset depreciation and tax provisions, disposition of renewable rebates and renewable energy credits, power purchase arrangements, revenue allocation, and local economic development opportunities.

"With direct investment from our Power Enterprise towards developing new solar projects, we’ve already done more to advance solar power than any other City in America," said SFPUC General Manager Susan Leal. "But this new initiative will attract new partners to dramatically expand and accelerate deployment of renewable power in San Francisco."

The SFPUC currently owns and operates the nation’s largest city-owned solar project atop the Moscone Convention Center. Additional SFPUC solar facilities are completed or currently planned for the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant, Pier 96/Norcal Recycling Facility, the North Point Wet Weather Treatment Plant, San Francisco International Airport and several San Francisco public schools and libraries. The SFPUC also leads numerous energy efficiency projects to reduce demand at City facilities, is conducting a feasibility study to generate tidal power at the Golden Gate Bridge and is launching a biofuel program to convert waste grease and oil into fuel for city vehicles and MUNI buses. For more information or to review the Request for Information visit sfwater.org.

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San Francisco Government