(a) Community Shared Solar Electric Generation System or Battery Storage System Offset. A community shared solar system, other community shared renewable system, community shared battery storage system, or combination of the aforementioned systems (hereinafter referred to as a community shared solar or battery storage system) may be approved by the Commission as a compliance option to partially or totally meet the on-site solar electric generation system and/or battery storage system that is otherwise required by Section 150.1(b)1 of Title 24, California Code of Regulations, Part 6. To be approved the community shared solar electric generation or community shared battery storage system shall meet the following requirements.
1. Enforcement Agency. The community shared solar electric generation system and/or community shared battery storage system shall be installed and available for enforcement agency site inspection, no later than the point in time the enforcement agency must physically verify compliance of the building, which would otherwise be required to have an on-site solar electric generation and/or battery storage system, and shall not cause delay in the process of enforcement agency review and approval of that building. The enforcement agency shall have jurisdiction and facilitated access to make site inspections. All documentation for the community solar electric generation system and/or community solar battery storage system that is required to demonstrate compliance for the building shall be completed prior to building permit application.
2. Energy Performance. The community shared solar electric generation system and/or community shared battery storage system shall be demonstrated to provide the same or better energy performance equal to the partial or total compliance with the energy performance of the on-site solar electric generation and/or battery storage system that would otherwise have been required for the building, computed by compliance software certified for use by the Commission.
3. Dedicated Building Energy Savings Benefits. The community shared solar electric generation system and/or community shared battery storage system shall provide energy saving benefits directly to the building that would otherwise have been required to have an on-site solar electric generation system and/or battery storage system. The energy savings benefits shall be allocated from the total resource of the community shared solar electric generation system and/or community shared battery storage system in a manner demonstrated to be equivalent to the reductions in energy consumption that would have resulted from the on-site solar electric generation system and/or battery storage system that is otherwise required by Section 150.1 of Title 24. The energy savings benefits allocated to the building shall be in the form of:
A. actual reductions in the energy consumption of the dedicated building;
B. utility energy reduction credits that will result in virtual reductions in the building’s energy consumption that is subject to energy bill payments; or
C. payments to the building that will have an equivalent effect as energy bill reductions.
The reduction in the building’s energy bill resulting from A, B, or C above shall be greater than the added cost to the building resulting from the building’s share in the community shared solar or battery system.
4. Durability. The community shared solar electric generation system and/or community shared battery storage system shall be designed and installed to provide the energy savings benefits to the dedicated building specified in Section 10-115(a)3 for a period of no less than twenty (20) years.
5. Additionality. The community shared solar electric generation system and/or community shared battery storage system shall provide the energy savings benefits specified in Section 10-115(a)3 exclusively to the dedicated building. Those energy savings benefits shall in no way be attributed to other purposes or transferred to other buildings or property.
6. Accountability and Recordkeeping. Applicants for Commission approval of community shared solar electric generation systems and/or community shared battery storage systems shall be accountable to all parties who relied on these systems for partial or total compliance with the on-site solar electric generation and/or battery storage system that would otherwise be required, including but not limited to builders of the buildings, owners of the buildings, enforcement agencies, and the Commission. Recordkeeping regarding compliance with the requirements in Sections 10-115(a)1-6 shall be maintained over the period of time specified in Section 10-115(a)4 for each building for which the community shared solar electric generation or battery storage system is used to demonstrate partial or total compliance. Access to these records shall be provided to any entity approved by the Commission for auditing compliance with these requirements.
(b) Application for Commission Approval. Any entity may apply to the Commission for approval to administer a community shared solar electric generation or community shared battery storage system to provide partial or total compliance with the on-site solar electric generation system and/or battery storage system required by Section 150.1 of Title 24, California Code of Regulations, Part 6. The application shall demonstrate to the Commission’s satisfaction that each of the requirements specified in Section 10-115(a)1-6 will be met and shall include detailed explanation of the actions that will be taken by the applicant to ensure that each requirement is met over the period of time specified in Section 10-115(a)4 for each building for which a partial or total offset is used to demonstrate compliance. All applicants have the burden of proof to establish that their application should be granted. The Commission shall have the authority to not approve any application that the Commission determines to be inconsistent with the requirements of Section 10-115.
(c) Commission Approval. Community shared solar electric generation systems and/or community shared battery storage systems, which demonstrate to the Commission’s satisfaction that all of the requirements specified in Section 10-115 will be met, shall be approved.
NOTE: Authority: Sections 25213, 25218, 25218.5, 25402, 25402.1, and 25605, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 25007, 25008, 25218.5, 25310, 25402, 25402.1, 25402.4, 25402.8, 25605, and 25943, Public Resources Code.