GFO-25-306 – Solar PV Located in Non-traditional Terrain (SPLINT)

GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Solar PV Located in Non-traditional Terrain (SPLINT)

EPIC Program

GFO-25-306

https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitation

State of California

California Energy Commission

March 2026

Table of Contents

I. Introduction 1

A. Purpose of Solicitation 1

B. Key Words/Terms 3

C. Project Focus 6

D. Funding 9

E. Key Activities Schedule 10

F. Notice of Pre-Application Workshop 10

G. Questions 11

H. Applicants’ Admonishment 12

I. Additional Requirements regarding environmental review 12

J. Background 14

K. Match Funding 21

L. Funds Spent in California 23

II. Eligibility Requirements 24

A. Applicant Requirements 24

B. Project Requirements 25

III. Application Submission Instructions 27

A. Application Format, Page Limits 27

B. Method For Delivery 27

C. Application Content 28

IV. Evaluation and Award Process 33

A. Application Evaluation 33

B. Ranking, Notice of Proposed Award, and Agreement Development 33

C. Grounds to Reject an Application or Cancel an Award 34

D. Miscellaneous 35

E. Stage One: Application Screening 38

F. Stage Two: Application Scoring 39

Attachments Attachment Number Title of Section 1 Executive Summary Form 2 Project Narrative Form 3 Project Team Form 4 Scope of Work Template 5 Project Schedule 6 Budget 7 CEQA Compliance Form 8 Past Projects Information Form 9 Commitment and Support Letters Form (requires signature) 10 Project Performance Metrics 11 Applicant Declarations (requires signature) 12 (Optional) References for Calculating Energy End-Use and GHG Emissions

I. Introduction

A. Purpose of Solicitation

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund applied research and development projects that support the Electric Program Investment Charge 2021 – 2025 (EPIC 4) Investment Plan Topic 3 “Emerging Solar Energy Technologies.” Projects resulting from this solicitation will accelerate advancements in renewable generation technologies and demonstrate cost reductions and increased energy output for utility-scale solar installations (>5 megawatt alternative current (MWAC)) paired with battery energy storage systems (~4 hr) in non-traditional locations. Funded projects must identify and enhance additional benefits for local communities and ecosystems to reduce barriers to and streamline solar photo-voltaic (PV) and storage installations and help reduce environmental impacts.

In California, meeting the Senate Bill 100 target of 100 percent clean energy by 2045 will require an estimated 500,000 to 1 million acres of land for utility-scale solar PV installations. Traditional ground-mounted solar requires abundant land that is sunny, relatively flat, and close to transmission lines for grid interconnection. This puts solar in conflict with other uses that require land with similar characteristics, such as that used for agriculture, housing, roads, and wildlife and ecosystem conservation. To ease land use conflicts, innovative solar deployment strategies on varied geographies and co-located with other uses are needed. However, the costs of deploying large-scale solar PV and storage in non-traditional locations are higher due to difficult-to-access terrain, lack of publicly available site data, and distance to grid infrastructure.

According to the National Laboratory of the Rockies, utility-scale solar operations and maintenance (O&M) costs for cleaning, inspection, new components, land lease, tax, insurance, and asset management are approximately $16/kilowatt direct current (kW-dc)/year, which represents 16 percent of the total levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Applying innovative tools to power generation forecasting, pre-installation planning, and O&M for solar PV and storage can significantly reduce overall costs. Additionally, the effects of large-scale solar and storage facilities on wildlife and ecosystems remain only partially understood, and efforts to mitigate impacts or enhance ecological benefits are still far from realized. If these challenges can be addressed, siting solar and storage in non-traditional locations can ease land use conflicts, reduce impacts to ecosystems, and reduce costs to enable renewable energy to reach more communities in California.

Examples of non-traditional locations include sloped terrain, brownfields, public properties (e.g., roadside land), public water bodies (e.g., reservoirs, wastewater treatment plants, canals), or other proposed locations in California to support deployments where land use and environmental impacts are minimized. These innovations will reduce the costs of solar installations and O&M while increasing solar energy output through minimizing equipment downtime and supporting more accurate site-specific forecasting.

Projects must fall within one of the following project groups:

• Group 1: Optimization of Non-Traditional PV Solar;

• Group 2: Data Collection and Processing for Site Assessment and Permitting; and

• Group 3: Solar PV Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Optimization.

See Section II of this solicitation for eligibility requirements. Applications will be evaluated as described in Section IV of this solicitation.

Applicants may submit multiple applications, though each application must address only one of the project groups identified above. If an applicant submits multiple applications that address the same project group, each application must be for a distinct project (i.e., no overlap with respect to the technical tasks described in the Scope of Work).

Prospective applicants looking for partnering opportunities for this funding opportunity should register on the California Energy Commission’s Empower Innovation website at www.empowerinnovation.net

B. Key Words/Terms

Word/Term	Definition
Applicant	An entity that submits an application to this solicitation.
Application	An applicant’s written response to this solicitation.
Authorized Representative	The person submitting the application who has authority to enter into an agreement with the CEC.
California Native American Tribe	A Native American Tribe located in California that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for the purposes of Chapter 905 of the Statutes of 2004 (Pub. Resources Code, § 21073).
California Tribal Organization	A corporation, association, or group controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by a California Native American tribe that is subject to its laws, the laws of the State of California, or the laws of the United States.
CAM	Commission Agreement Manager, the person designated by the CEC to oversee the performance of an agreement resulting from this solicitation and to serve as the main point of contact for the grant recipient.
CAO	Commission Agreement Officer, the person designated by the CEC to oversee the internal administrative processes and to serve as the main point of contact for solicitation applicants.
CBO	Community Based Organization, a public or private nonprofit organization of demonstrated effectiveness that: a) Has deployed projects and/or outreach efforts within the region (e.g., air basin or county) of the proposed disadvantaged or low-income community or similar community. b) Has an official mission and vision statements that expressly identifies serving disadvantaged and/or low-income communities. c) Currently employs staff member(s) who specialized in and are dedicated to – diversity, or equity, or inclusion, or is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
CEC	State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission or , the California Energy Commission.
CEC funds	CEC funds are EPIC grant funds awarded under this solicitation. Also referred to as grant funds.
CEQA	California Environmental Quality Act, California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.
Days	Days refers to calendar days.
Disadvantaged Community	Communities designated pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 39711 as representing the top 25% scoring census tracts from CalEnviroScreen along with other areas with high amounts of pollution and low populations as identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency. (https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-40)
Energy Equity	The fair distribution of benefits and burdens from energy production and consumption.
EPIC	Electric Program Investment Charge, the source of funding for the projects awarded under this solicitation.
IOU	Investor-owned utility, an electrical corporation as defined in California Public Utilities Code section 218. For purposes of this solicitation, it includes Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co., and Southern California Edison Co.
LCOE	Levelized Cost Of Electricity, the per kilowatt-hour cost of building and operating a generating plant over its lifetime.
Low Income Community	Communities within census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or the applicable low-income threshold listed in the state income limits updated by the Department of Housing and Community Development. (https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/income-limits)
Major Subrecipient	A Subrecipient that is budgeted to receive $100,000 or more of CEC funds, not including any equipment or match funds that may be provide by the Subrecipient.
MW	Megawatt, a unit of measuring instantaneous electrical power equivalent to 106 Watts.
NOPA	Notice of Proposed Award, a public notice by CEC staff that identifies proposed grant recipients.
O&M	Operations and Maintenance
Pre-Commercial Technology	A technology that has not reached commercial maturity or been deployed at scales sufficiently large and in conditions sufficiently reflective of anticipated actual operating environments to enable the appraisal of operational and performance characteristics, or of financial risks.
Pilot Test	Small scale testing in a laboratory or testing on a small portion of the production line of the affected industry. Pilot tests help verify the design and validity of an approach, and adjustments can be made at this stage before full-scale demonstrations
Principal Investigator	The technical lead for the applicant’s project, who is responsible for overseeing the project; in some instances, the Principal Investigator and Project Manager may be the same person.
Project Manager	The person designated by the applicant to oversee the project and to serve as the main point of contact for the CEC.
Project Partner	A person or entity that contributes financially or otherwise to the project (e.g., match funding, provision of a test, demonstration or deployment site), and does not receive CEC funds.
PV	Photovoltaic, a non-mechanical device that directly converts sunlight into electricity.
Recipient	A person or entity receiving a grant award under this solicitation. “Recipient” may be used interchangeably with “grant recipient”.
Solicitation	This entire document, including all attachments, exhibits, addenda, written notices, and questions and answers (“solicitation” may be used interchangeably with “Grant Funding Opportunity” or “GFO”).
Subrecipient	A person or entity that receives grant funds directly from a grant Recipient and is entrusted to make decisions about how to conduct some of the grant’s activities. A Subrecipient’s role involves discretion over grant activities and is not merely just selling goods or services.
Sub-Subrecipient	Has the same meaning as a Subrecipient except that it receives grant funds from a Subrecipient or any lower tier level of a Sub-Subrecipient.
State	State of California
TRL	Technology readiness levels are a method for estimating the maturity of technologies during the acquisition phase of a program. Source: U.S. Department of Energy, “Technology Readiness Assessment Guide”. https://www2.lbl.gov/dir/assets/docs/TRL%20guide.pdf
Vendor	A person or entity that sells goods or services to the grant Recipient, Subrecipient, or any lower-tiered level of Sub-Subrecipient, in exchange for some of the grant funds, and does not make decisions about how to perform the grant’s activities. The Vendor’s role is ministerial and does not involve discretion over grant activities.

C. Project Focus

Group 1: Optimization of Non-Traditional PV Solar

This group will support Research, Development, and Deployment (RD&D) innovations to improve utility-scale solar PV generation and energy storage in non-traditional locations. These include solar canals, agrivoltaics, floatovoltaics, solar roadways, solar over roadways, and similar multi-use applications. Projects may involve research analyses, field measurements, and pilot-testing to develop publicly accessible tools that measure potential energy and non-energy impacts and co-benefits. They will also develop recommendations to optimize how solar PV generation and energy storage systems are sited, designed, installed, and operated, aiming to minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits for California ratepayers.

Potential impacts and benefits may include those related to cost, land use, water use, air quality, environment, grid resilience, agriculture, health, equity, and wildlife and ecosystem interactions, compared to traditional ground-mounted solar PV., Key metrics for measuring successful project outcomes may include, LCOE, availability, specific yield (kilowatt-hour (kWh)/kilowatt-peak (kWp)/year), performance ratio (PR), land-use efficiency, capacity utilization factor (CUF), shading ratio (SR), temperature coefficient, system efficiency, evaporation rate, and ecological benefits, depending on the proposed solar PV and storage configuration. Analyses and tools developed from this solicitation will inform solar developers, state agencies, utility districts, load-serving entities, and California ratepayers, among others, and will better forecast the role of these systems in meeting the state’s decarbonization goals.

Projects funded through this group will implement strategies or innovations that mitigate adverse impacts on or maximize benefits to wildlife and ecosystems from utility-scale solar and storage development in non-traditional locations. Initiatives are highly encouraged to apply the latest research and technology developments to benefit California farmers, developers, rural cooperatives, tribal governments, and disadvantaged and low-income communities. Examples of suitable projects include but are not limited to:

• Develop, validate, and improve an open-source data processing tool to identify optimal locations, design layouts, and ecosystem impact mitigation strategies for siting solar PV generation and storage on non-traditional terrain, and quantify the associated energy and non-energy benefits.

• Perform field testing at a solar PV generation and storage facility in a non-traditional location to assess the efficacy of one or more environmental mitigation technologies and their impacts on energy performance.

Group 2: Data Collection and Processing for Site Assessment and Permitting

This group will support research and development efforts to create automated solutions that improve pre-installation design, siting, and zoning for utility-scale solar PV and energy storage, including in non-traditional locations, by enhancing site assessment activities. These solutions will use site assessment methods such as drone flyovers, ground surveys, or feasibility studies to evaluate site viability and inform permitting processes. Innovations may include repurposing technologies such as robotics or autonomous vehicles to automate pre-construction tasks, as well as using advanced data processing tools to integrate information on solar insolation, flood risk, protected ecosystems, and cultural sites. Key metrics for measuring successful project outcomes may include LCOE; permitting, inspection, and interconnection time; ecological benefits; installation time; resilience; safety; availability; and forecast accuracy.

Each project must gather available field data, explain the data sources and their availability, outline methods to ensure transparency, and develop guidelines and screening criteria. Data applicable to real-world utility-scale solar PV and storage projects is encouraged. Examples of suitable projects include but are not limited to:

• Develop a technoeconomic analysis or feasibility study for converting off-the-shelf robotic or autonomous innovations into intelligent solutions that optimize pre-engineering activities for solar installations in non-traditional locations.

• Use artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning tools to synthesize disparate data for flood risk, protected ecosystems, and cultural sites to inform transmission planning and project siting and design.

Group 3: PV Plant O&M Optimization

This group will support open-source automated data processing tools that lower post-construction O&M costs for solar PV and storage installations in non-traditional locations. Projects must perform on-site testing to collect field data and describe the sources used, including their availability and methods used to ensure transparency. They must also develop guidelines and screening criteria for applying AI, machine-learning, or other software tools for solar PV in non-traditional locations. Key metrics for measuring successful project outcomes may include LCOE, availability, degradation rate, curtailment, operational reliability, safety, and lifespan.

Deliverables may include conceptual design, feasibility studies, training manuals, guidelines, and screening criteria for developers and site managers, as well as a tool access and user guide. Examples of suitable projects include but are not limited to:

• Identify an operational power plant as a case study to apply a tool using data analysis or AI techniques for predictive maintenance (e.g., detect and classify anomalies, predict failures, schedule maintenance activities) and conduct an analysis of the tool on long-term financial performance.

• Develop, validate, and improve an open-source AI data processing and analysis tool that provides real-time detection, classification, and prediction of system failures.

The Project Narrative Attachment must discuss the following in the sections identified:

In the Technical Approach section, (1) describe how the open-source mapping and analysis tool will be publicly accessible, for how long, and how relevant interested parties will be educated, including training, user guides, and documentation; (2) describe access to the volume, type, and quality of real-world data necessary to complete the project; and; (3) describe data sources, availability of data, methods to provide transparency, and frequency with which data should be updated.

Target Metrics,

Category	Metric	Description	Relevant Group(s)
Economic and Ratepayer Benefits	LCOE ($/megawatt-hour (MWh)) Capital Expenditures ($/kW) O&M costs ($/kW-yr) Cost savings ($)	Reduction in LCOE, Capital Expenditures, and O&M costs Cost reductions from strategic outcomes or model outputs	1, 2, 3
Energy benefits	Energy availability (%) Capacity utilization factor (%) Energy delivery (MWh/yr) System efficiency (%) Performance Index (PI)	Increase in solar PV and storage availability, performance, capacity, efficiency, and energy delivery	1, 2, 3
Non-energy benefits	Specific yield (kWh/kWp/yr) Land-use (acres/MWac) Water savings (gallons/yr) Shading ratio (%)	Increase in non-energy benefits such as agricultural yield, shade, etc. Reduction in water use and/or land-use requirements	1
Data Collection and Processing	Process time (yrs) Forecast accuracy (Root Mean Squared Error)	Reduction in siting, permitting, inspection, interconnection, and installation time(s) Increase in predictive accuracy of model output	2
Operations and Maintenance	Lifespan (yrs or cycles) Degradation rate (%/yr) Performance Loss Rate (%/yr) Outage time (hrs)	Increase in the lifespan or cycles of the solar PV and storage system Reduction in degradation, performance rate, and outage time	3

D. Funding

1. Amount Available and Minimum/ Maximum Funding Amounts

There is up to $6,000,000 available for grants awarded under this solicitation. The total, minimum, and maximum funding amounts for each project group are listed below.

Project Group	Available CEC funding	Minimum CEC award	Maximum CEC award	Minimum total match share percentage
Group 1: Optimization of Non-Traditional PV Solar	$3,000,000	$1,000,000	$2,500,000	20%
Group 2: Data Collection and Processing for Site Assessment and Permitting	$1,500,000	$500,000	$1,000,000	20%
Group 3: PV Plant Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Optimization	$1,500,000	$500,000	$1,000,000	20%

2. Match Funding Requirement

Applications for all groups must include a minimum 20 percent total match share percentage for this solicitation.

Total match share percentage is calculated by dividing the total match share contributions by the total CEC funds requested plus total match share contributions:

X 100 = Total Match Share percentage

For the definition of match funding, see Section I K.

3. Change in Funding Amount

Along with any other rights and remedies available to it, the CEC reserves the right to:

• Increase or decrease the available funding and the minimum/maximum grant award amounts described in this section.

• Allocate any additional or unawarded funds to passing applications, in rank order.

• Reallocate funding between any of the groups

• Aggregate funds from multiple groups to fully fund the highest ranked passing applications, regardless of group.

• Reduce funding to an appropriate amount if the budgeted funds do not provide full funding for agreements. In this event, the proposed grant recipient and Commission Agreement Manager (CAM) will attempt to reach agreement on a reduced Scope of Work commensurate with available funding.

E. Key Activities Schedule

Key activities, dates, and times for this solicitation and for agreements resulting from this solicitation are presented below. An addendum will be released if the dates change for activities that appear in bold.

ACTIVITY	DATE	TIME
Solicitation Release	March 18, 2026
Pre-Application Workshop	April 9, 2026	10:00a.m. to 12:00pm
Deadline for Written Questions	April 23, 2026	5:00 p.m.
Anticipated Distribution of Questions and Answers	Week of May 4
Support for Application Submission in ECAMS	June 9, 2026	5:00 p.m.
Deadline to Submit Applications	June 9, 2026	11:59 p.m.
Anticipated Notice of Proposed Award Posting Date	Week of August 10
Anticipated Energy Commission Business Meeting Date	November 13, 2026
Anticipated Agreement Start Date	December 1, 2026
Anticipated Agreement End Date	March 31, 2030

F. Notice of Pre-Application Workshop

CEC staff will hold one Pre-Application Workshop to discuss this solicitation with potential applicants. Participation is optional but encouraged. The Pre-Application Workshop will be held remotely. Applicants may attend the workshop via the internet (Zoom, see instructions below), or via conference call on the date and at the time and location listed below. Please refer to the CEC's website at www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/index.html to confirm the date and time. Please be aware that the meeting will be recorded.

Date and time: April 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Zoom Instructions:

To join the Zoom meeting, go to https://zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID below and select “join from your browser.” Participants will then enter the meeting password listed below and their name. Participants will select the “Join” button.:

Meeting ID: 843 3778 0275

Meeting Password: energy

Topic: GFO-25-306 Pre-Application Workshop

Telephone Access Only:

Call 1-888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 1-877 853 5257 (Toll Free). When prompted, enter the meeting number above. International callers may select a number from the Zoom International Dial-in Number List at: https://energy.zoom.us/u/adjzKUXvoy . To comment, dial *9 to “raise your hand” and *6 to mute/unmute your phone line.

Access by Mobile Device:

Download the application from the Zoom Download Center, https://energy.zoom.us/download .

Technical Support for Pre-Application Workshop:

• For assistance with problems or questions about joining or attending the meeting,

please call Zoom Technical Support at 1-888-799-9666 ext. 2. You may also contact the CEC’s Public Advisor’s Office at publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov , or (916) 957-7910.

• System Requirements: To determine whether your computer is compatible, visit:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux .

• If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please Erica Rodriguez by e-mail at Erica.Rodriguez@energy.ca.gov or (916) 764-5705 at least five days in advance.

G. Questions

During the solicitation process, for questions only related to submission of application in the new ECAMS system, please contact ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov . Through that email address applicants will be able to access a team of technical assistants who can answer questions about application submission. Please also see Section III.B for additional information about the ECAMS system.

For all other questions, including all technical and administrative questions that are not related to submission of applications in the ECAMS system, please contact the Commission Agreement Officer listed below:

Natalia Calderon, Commission Agreement Officer

California Energy Commission

715 P, MS-1

Sacramento, California, 95814

E-mail: natalia.calderon@energy.ca.gov

Applicants may ask questions at the Pre-Application Workshop and may submit written questions via email. However, all technical questions must be received by the deadline listed in the “Key Activities Schedule” above. Questions received after the deadline may be answered at the CEC's discretion. Non-technical questions (e.g., administrative questions concerning application format requirements or attachment instructions) may be submitted to the CAO at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date. Similarly, questions related to submission of applications in the ECAMS system may be submitted to ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date.

The questions and answers will also be posted on the CEC’s website at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitations

If an applicant discovers a conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the solicitation at any time prior 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date, the applicant may notify the CAO in writing and request modification or clarification of the solicitation. The CEC, at its discretion will provide modifications or clarifications by either an addendum to the solicitation or by written notice to all entities that requested the solicitation. At its discretion, the CEC may, in addition to any other actions it may choose, re-open the question/answer period to provide all applicants the opportunity to seek any further clarification required.

Any verbal communication with a CEC employee or anyone else concerning this solicitation is not binding on the State and will in no way alter a specification, term, or condition of the solicitation. Therefore, all communication should be directed in writing to the assigned CAO.

H. Applicants’ Admonishment

This solicitation contains application requirements and instructions. Applicants are responsible for carefully reading the entire solicitation, asking appropriate questions in a timely manner, ensuring that all solicitation requirements are met, submitting all required responses in a complete manner by the required date and time, and carefully rereading the solicitation before submitting an application. In particular, please carefully read the Screening and Scoring Criteria and Grounds to Reject an Application or Cancel an Award in Part IV, and the relevant EPIC Grant terms and conditions located at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/funding-resources .

Applicants are solely responsible for the cost of developing applications. This cost cannot be charged to the State. All submitted documents will become publicly available records and property of the State after the CEC posts the Notice of Proposed Award or the solicitation is cancelled. Only submit information you want made public. Applicants shall not submit any confidential information as part of their applications. No portion of your application will be considered confidential.

I. Additional Requirements regarding environmental review

• Time is of the essence. CEC funds available under this solicitation have encumbrance deadlines as early as June 30, 2027.  This means that the CEC must approve proposed awards at a business meeting (usually held monthly) prior to June 30, 2027, to avoid expiration of the funds.

• Environmental Review. Prior to approval and encumbrance, the CEC must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other requirements. To comply with CEQA, the CEC must have CEQA-related information from applicants and sometimes other entities, such as local governments, in a timely manner. Unfortunately, even with this information, the CEC may not be able to complete its CEQA review prior to the encumbrance deadline for every project. For example, if a project requires an Environmental Impact Report, the process to complete it can take many months. For these reasons, it is critical that applicants organize applications in a manner that minimizes the time required for the CEC to comply with CEQA and provide all CEQA-related information to the CEC in a timely manner such that the CEC is able to complete its review in time for it to meet its encumbrance deadline.

• Reservation of right to cancel proposed award. In addition to any other right reserved to it under this solicitation or that it otherwise has, if the CEC determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that the CEQA review associated with a proposed project would not likely be completed prior to the encumbrance deadline referenced above, and that the CEC’s ability to meet its encumbrance deadline may thereby be jeopardized, the CEC may cancel a proposed award and award funds to the next highest scoring applicant, regardless of the originally proposed applicant’s diligence in submitting information and materials for CEQA review. Examples of situations that may arise related to CEQA review include but are not limited to:

• Example 1: If another state agency or local jurisdiction, such as a city or county, has taken the role of lead agency under CEQA, the CEC’s review may be delayed while waiting for a determination from the lead agency.

• Example 2: If the proposed work is part of a larger project for which a detailed environmental analysis has been or will be prepared by another state agency or local jurisdiction, the CEC’s review may be delayed as a result of waiting for a supplemental or initial analysis, respectively, from the other agency.

• Example 3: If the nature of the proposed work is such that a project is not categorically or otherwise exempt from the requirements of CEQA, and an Initial Study or other detailed environmental analysis appears to be necessary, the CEC’s review, or the lead agency’s review, may take longer than the time available to encumber the funds. If an Initial Study, Negative Declaration, Mitigated Negative Declaration, Environmental Impact Report, or similar document has already been completed by another state agency or a local jurisdiction, serving as the lead agency, the applicant must ensure that such an analysis covers the work in the proposed project, or must obtain a revised analysis and determination from the lead agency reviewing the proposed project.

• Example 4: If the proposed project clearly falls under a statutory or categorical exemption, or is project for which another state agency or local jurisdiction has already completed its environmental review and adopted CEQA findings that the project will cause no significant effect on the environment, the project will likely have greater success in attaining rapid completion of CEQA requirements.

The above examples are not exhaustive of instances in which the CEC may or may not be able to comply with CEQA within the encumbrance deadline and are only provided as further clarification for potential applicants. Applicants are encouraged to contact potential lead and responsible agencies under CEQA as early as possible. Please plan applications accordingly.

J. Background

1. Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program

This solicitation will award projects funded by the EPIC, an electricity ratepayer surcharge established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in December 2011. The purpose of the EPIC program is to benefit the ratepayers of three investor-owned utilities (IOUs), including Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co., and Southern California Edison Co. The EPIC funds clean energy technology projects that meet the guiding principles of (1) improving safety, (2) increasing reliability, (3) increasing affordability, (4) improving environmental sustainability, and (5) improving equity, all as related to California's electric system. In addition to providing IOU ratepayer benefits, funded projects must lead to technological advancement and breakthroughs to overcome the barriers that prevent the achievement of the state’s statutory energy goals. The EPIC program is administered by the CEC and the IOUs.

• Program Areas, Strategic Objectives, and Funding Initiatives

EPIC projects must fall within the following program areas identified by the CPUC:

• Applied research and development;

• Technology demonstration and deployment; and

• Market facilitation.

In addition, projects must fall within one of the general focus areas (“strategic objectives”) identified in the CEC’s EPIC Investment Plans and within one or more specific focus areas (“funding initiatives”) identified in the plan. This solicitation targets the following program area, strategic objective, and funding initiative:

The Electric Program Investment Charge 2021–2025 Investment Plan (EPIC 4 Investment Plan)

• Program Area: Applied Research and Development

• Strategic Objective S2: Accelerate Advancements in Renewable Generation Technologies

o Funding Initiative S2.3: Emerging Solar Energy Technologies

Applicable Laws, Policies, and Background Documents

This solicitation addresses the energy goals described in the following laws, policies, and background documents.

Laws/Regulations

• Disadvantaged & Low-income Communities

At least 25% of available Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) technology demonstration and deployment funding must be allocated to project sites located in, and benefiting, disadvantaged communities; and an additional minimum 10% of funds must be allocated to projects sites located in and benefiting low-income communities. The CEC in administering EPIC must also take into account adverse localized health impacts of proposed projects to the greatest extent possible, and give preference for funding to clean energy projects that benefit residents of low-income or disadvantaged communities.

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