§140.1(b)|tag=b_Energy_Budget_for_the_Proposed_Design_Building_
The 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards allow the possibility for the standards requirements for photovoltaics. which would otherwise be installed for the building site, to be offset by community-shared solar electric generation. “Community-shared solar electric generation” means solar electric generation or other renewable technology electric generation that is installed at a different location. Also, the batteries that otherwise would be installed in combination with photovoltaics on the building site to comply with battery storage requirements or to gain performance standards compliance credit potentially could be offset by a community-shared battery storage system that is installed at a different location. Community-shared solar electric generation systems and community-shared battery storage systems possibly can be combined or separate. All of these possibilities are hereinafter referred to as just “community-shared solar electric generation systems.”
For these offsets to become available, entities who wish to serve as administrators of a proposed community-shared solar electric generation system must apply to the CEC for approval, demonstrating that several criteria specified in Section 10-115 of the standards are met. The CEC will carefully consider these applications to determine if they meet these criteria. If approved, CEC-approved compliance software will be modified to enable users to take compliance credit for buildings participating in that CEC-approved community-shared solar electric generation system.
Any entity may apply to serve as administrator of a proposed community-shared solar electric generation system, including, but not limited to, utilities, builders, solar companies, or local governments. The entity will be responsible for ensuring that the criteria for approval are met throughout (at least) a 20-year period for each building that uses shares of the community-shared solar electric generation system to offset the onsite solar electric generation and batteries, which would otherwise be required for the building to comply with the Standards. Throughout that period the administrator will be accountable to builders, building owners, enforcement agencies, the CEC, and other parties who relied on these systems for offset compliance with the standards. Records demonstrating compliance with the criteria must be maintained over that period, with access to those records provided to any entity approved by the Energy Commission.
Entities interested in applying to serve as an administrator of a proposed community-shared solar electric generation system should become thoroughly familiar with the criteria for approval specified in Section 10-115 and contact the CEC Building Standards Office for further discussion and explanation of the criteria as necessary.
To date, only the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has applied to be an administrator for a community-shared solar electric generation system. SMUD’s application was approved by the CEC. SMUD’s application did not include community-shared storage.
A. The community-shared solar electric generation system must exist and be available for enforcement agency review early in the permitting process and shall not cause delay in the enforcement agency review and approval of the building that will be served by the community-shared solar generation system. All documentation required to demonstrate compliance for the building and the compliance offset from the community-shared solar electric generation system must be completed and submitted to the enforcement agency with the permit application. The enforcement agency must be provided facilitated access to the community-shared solar generation system to verify the validity and accuracy of compliance documentation.
CEC-approved compliance software must be used to show that the energy performance of the share of the community-shared solar electric generation system that is dedicated to the participating building, generates TDV energy that is equal to or greater than the TDV energy, which would otherwise be required for the building to comply with the standards.
The minimum community-shared solar size dedicated to the building, which is necessary to meet the TDV equivalence of the onsite PV system and the onsite battery storage system that otherwise would be required, is determined by the compliance software. The compliance software will determine a minimum kW size that will be the share of the community solar resource that is required to be dedicated to the building, based on the resource’s PV system component performance characteristics, orientation (azimuth and tilt), inverter type, tracking versus fixed systems, climate zone and CEC weather files containing solar availability data.
A specific share of the community-shared solar generation system, determined to comply with the energy performance requirement above, must be dedicated on an ongoing basis to the participating building. The energy savings benefits dedicated to the building shall be provided in one of the following ways:
B. Actual reductions in the energy consumption of the building.
C. Energy reduction credits that will result in virtual reductions in the energy consumption of the building, including, but not limited to, generation credit, solar charge, program charge, and power charge indifference adjustment (PCIA) charge; or
D. Payments to the building that will have an equivalent effect as energy bill reductions that would result from one of the other two options above.
For all three options mentioned above, the reduction in energy bills resulting from the share of the community-shared solar generation system or community-shared battery storage system or both dedicated to the building must be greater than the cost that is charged to the building to obtain that share of the community-shared solar generation system or community-shared battery storage system or both.
A) Durability. The benefits from the specific share of the Community Shared Solar Generation System and/or community shared battery storage system must be provided to each participating building for a period not less than 20 years.
B) Participation. Buildings using community shared solar and/or battery storage systems to comply with Sections 140.0(c), 150.1(a)3, or 170.0(a)3, must participate for at least 20 years, regardless of who owns or occupies the building, unless the building owner fulfills the opt-out requirements. The CEC-approved administrator(s) must require the builder to provide equitable servitude by
a) recording a covenant, or other legally binding method that runs with the land and obligates all owners/tenants to maintain the participation of the building in the community-shared solar and/or community shared battery storage system for at least 20 years or satisfy the opt-out requirements.
B) Compliance Documentation. The administrator must maintain record(s) of the compliance documentation that determined the requirements for the on-site solar electric generation system or battery storage system or both to comply with the standards in effect at the time the builder applied for the original building permit, and that establishes participants’ obligations to meet the opt-out requirements. The administrator shall provide a copy of this compliance documentation upon a participating building owner’s request, to every new owner of a participating building when the administrator is notified that the title has transferred, and to any participating building owner who requests to opt-out.
C) Building Opt-Out. During the 20-year participation period, the participating building owner has the option to opt out of participation in the community-shared solar electric generation system if the opt-out requirements are met.
a) Before opting out, the building owner must demonstrate that they have installed an on-site solar electric generation system that meets or exceeds the annual TDV energy generation resulting from the on-site PV and battery storage system that would have been required by the Energy Code in effect at the time of the original building permit application for the building. The building owner must also provide documentation from the installer of the on-site solar system or an attestation of the building owner with supporting documentation confirming the installation of the required onsite systems. The building owner is responsible for all costs associated with documentation of the opt-out requirements.
b) The administrator must review opt-out documentation and determine if the installed solar system meets the opt-out requirements. Within 30 days the administrator must provide written confirmation if the building meets the opt-out requirements.
c) All costs and benefits associated with participation in the community-shared solar electric generation system shall cease, and all outstanding balances shall be paid by either party.
d) The administrator (or other approved entity) must not impose any penalty related to a participating building opting out or charge participants for recuperation of unrealized revenue that would have been expected to accrue beyond the end of participation. If the administrator plans to charge any other fees at the time of building opting out, the application for commission approval of the community-shared solar electric generation system shall explain the purpose of those fees.
The specific share of the community-shared solar electric generation system must provide the benefits to the participating building that are in no way made available or attributed to any other building or purpose. Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) that are unbundled from the community-shared solar electric generation system do not meet this additionality requirement.
E. The participating building(s) must be served primarily by renewable resources developed specifically for the community-solar electric generation system.
F. Other renewable resources meeting the requirements of Section 10-115(a)4 may be used for each participating building if the building(s) is permitted before the renewable resources developed for the program start operating or after they cease operating. For each renewable resource developed to serve participating buildings, bundled RECs, which satisfy the criteria of Portfolio Content Category 1 of the California Renewable Portfolio Standard regulations, shall be retired and tracked in the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) on behalf of program participants to ensure they will not be allocated to or used for any other mandatory or voluntary renewable electricity program requirement or claim.
G. Excess generation from renewable resources may be used to serve other loads but must be isolated from the generation serving participating buildings. This is not considered a violation of Section 10-115(a)5C, the additionality requirement above.
Example 9-8:
Question:
To help entities that might want to apply to the CEC for approval of a community-shared solar energy generation system, please provide examples of each of the three optional ways energy savings benefits could be provided to comply with Section 9.4.3.2.3.
Answer:
Examples would include:
Actual reductions in the energy consumption of the building. These reductions could be accomplished by locating the PV systems for several buildings on a carport on common land in a subdivision, and direct wiring the unique PV panels serving each house to an inverter that is located on the building site. For buildings served by utilities that are subject to compliance with net-energy-metering requirements, the common land that is hosting the PVs on the carport would have to be adjacent to (could be directly across a street) the buildings that are being served by the PV system. All other requirements of Section 10-115 would have to be met.
Utility energy reduction credits that will result in virtual reductions in the energy consumption of the building that is subject to energy bill payments. These reductions could be accomplished for qualifying multifamily dwellings by participation in an approved virtual-net-metering program, which has PVs installed on the multifamily project site, and energy bill credits that reduce the monthly electricity bill of each dwelling unit consistent with net-energy-metering requirements. Alternatively, this could be accomplished through a community-shared solar program administered by a utility (like the Green Tariff Shared Renewables, or GTSR), for which a remote renewable resource is paid for through shares purchased for each building, and energy bill credits are that reduce monthly electricity bills are allocated based on the shares of the buildings, including, but not limited to, generation credit, solar charges, program charges, and nonparticipant charges. All other requirements of Section 10-115 would have to be met.
Payments to the building that will have an equivalent effect as energy bill reductions would result from one of the two options above. This could be accomplished by builders installing PV systems on other properties they own to offset the compliance requirement for onsite PVs on buildings they build. The buildings would pay for a share of the PV systems on the other properties. The builders would be obligated to make an ongoing cash payment back to the buildings for the building share of the electricity generation achieved by the PV systems on the other properties. The share of the ownership of the PV systems on the other properties and the corresponding sharing of the electricity generation achieved by the PV systems on the other properties would not be accounted for through a utility system. The ownership share would not be paid to the utility, and the payment for the share of the electricity generation achieved by the PV systems on the other properties would not be provided through a utility bill. The entire program would be administered by the builder for a 20-year period for each building. All other requirements of Section 10-115 would have to be met.
Example 9-9:
Question:
Could you also explain what the cost requirements are in the last sentence of Section 9.4.3.2.3 that says, “In other words, a building that participates in an approved community solar program, cannot be charged more than the same but nonparticipating building that has no onsite PV system and does not participate in a community-solar program.”
Answer:
In a nutshell, regardless of the three options chosen above, it must be cost-effective for the building to participate in a community-shared solar electric generation system program. The participating building will pay for its share of the community renewable resource and receive either energy bill reductions, credits, or cash payments for the electricity generated by the community renewable resource. The value of the reductions, credits, or cash payments to the participating building must exceed its share value of the community renewable resource.