The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Board of Water and Power Commissioners has approved the creation of a solar feed-in-tariff (FIT) demonstration program for 10 MW of solar power in Los Angeles.
The program will allow solar power to be developed by third parties and then sold to LADWP for distribution on the city's power grid. Once the initial 10 MW of solar has been deployed, LADWP will roll out a program of between 75 MW and 150 MW based on information learned from the demonstration phase, rate support and stakeholder input.
The Los Angeles City Council previously gave its blessing to LADWP's FIT program by adopting an ordinance that gives LADWP's Board of Water and Power Commissioners administrative discretion to enter into the many long-term standard contracts that previously required a more lengthy process of council approval. The action also permits the board to delegate that authority to LADWP General Manager Ronald O. Nichols.
The LADWP Board has now approved the program guidelines, along with the standard purchase agreement and interconnection agreement that will be required of FIT projects. The board's action also delegated authority for Nichols to approve the FIT contracts.
Projects will be selected based on competitive bids, which will determine a set contract price per kWh for up to 20 years. The program will set aside a prescribed amount of smaller and larger solar generation projects.
‘In addition to residential customers, the FIT program will open up local solar development to rooftop real estate, such as warehouses, multifamily developments and other large rooftop structures beyond those that currently benefit from our solar incentive program,’ notes Aram Benyamin, senior assistant general manager at LADWP Power System.
