Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), a community choice aggregator (CCA) in the California ISA (CAISO) region, is seeking projects to meet its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and reliability goals.
The CCA aims to procure power purchase agreements (PPAs) using the Ascend Analytics Energy Exchange (AEX), a marketplace for renewable and storage projects that helps pair energy consumers with asset owners.
3CE was established in 2017 and now serves over 436,000 customers in the Central Coast region of California, including in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
For most of the projects, 3CE is seeking PPA start dates of no later than Dec. 31, 2032, except for Bridge MTR Import contracts, which must start no later than June 1, 2027.
3CE’s RFP seeks offers with a capacity of at least 20 MW from the following product categories:
- Renewable generation-only contracts: RPS-eligible generation (e.g., solar, wind and geothermal). PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years. 3CE has a strong preference for projects in this category with an earlier delivery date.
- Renewable-plus-storage contracts: RPS-eligible generation paired with storage projects. The storage duration must be at least four hours, and the storage contract capacity cannot exceed 120% of the guaranteed generating capacity. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- Standalone-storage contracts: These can include lithium-ion battery storage, compressed air storage with a storage duration of at least 4 hours. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- Renewable asset (RA) only contracts: RA Only projects from storage, thermals, or other qualifying resources. PPA tenor must be between 5 and 10 years.
- PCC1 index+ contracts: RPS-eligible generation (e.g., solar, wind and geothermal) offered as a PCC1 Index+ contract. PPA tenor must be between 10 and 20 years.
- Bridge MTR import contracts: Renewable-asset resources eligible under California Public Utilities Commission Mid-Term Reliability Decision 21-06-035 that are classified as Imported Electricity from Unspecified Resources. 3CE is giving strong preference to offers with an earlier delivery date, looking for June 1, 2027.
Ascend Analytics will use Ascend Power Procurement to organize the RFP process and will support evaluating all conforming bids using its Energy Analytics Platform, PowerSIMM.
The RFP team will host an informational webinar for interested bidders on April 9, 2025, at 1 p.m. PT. Submissions are due April 25, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT. To participate, ask questions, and receive RFP updates and materials, prospects must register on the 3CE RFP website.
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