MCE (Marin Clean Energy), a California joint powers authority serving over 585,000 customer accounts across four Bay Area counties (Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, and Solano), seeks qualified suppliers of renewable energy products to participate in the 2026 Disadvantaged Community Green Tariff (DAC-GT) procurement process. This solicitation aims to fulfill requirements under Assembly Bill 327 and various CPUC decisions and resolutions designed to promote renewable energy installation among residential customers in disadvantaged communities.
The 2026 solicitation seeks two primary products: (1) Photovoltaic Renewable Energy with PCC1-eligible Renewable Energy, Green Attributes/Renewable Energy Credits, and Capacity Attributes (RA); and (2) Photovoltaic Renewable Energy paired with four-hour energy storage components. MCE has allocated 3.6 MW of program capacity for 2026, with remaining capacity of 3.6 MW available. Projects must be new-build solar only, sized between 0.5-3.6 MW AC, with commercial operation dates by December 31, 2027 or earlier.
Eligible projects must be located entirely within PG&E's service area and within eligible disadvantaged communities as defined by CalEPA's CalEnviroScreen 4.0 tool (census tracts scoring at or above the 75th percentile statewide, or within five miles of such tracts). Energy storage paired with solar must be equivalently sized to the solar generator nameplate rating with minimum four-hour daily dispatch capacity, 365 cycles per year, 98% uptime availability, and 86% round-trip efficiency. Projects must qualify as RPS-eligible Eligible Renewable Energy Resources per Public Utilities Code Section 399.12.
Key dates include: RFO issuance on February 23, 2026; vendor Q&A window from February 23 through March 27, 2026; submission deadline of April 3, 2026 at 5:00 P.M. Pacific Prevailing Time; shortlist notification in April 2026; final selection in May 2026; and contract finalization in June 2026. Selected respondents will be required to execute an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement and submit a Shortlist Deposit of $3.00/kW within ten business days of notification.
Evaluation criteria include overall quality and completeness of response, price and relative value, project location and local benefits, project development status, qualifications and financial stability of the project team, environmental impacts, acceptance of MCE's standard contract terms, and development milestone schedules. Optional elements receiving MCE preference include PPAs with ownership options, projects not sharing capacity at a single interconnection point, disabled veteran contractor participation, participation of contractors located in or employing workers from disadvantaged communities, local community participation in construction and operations, sourcing of materials from local suppliers, US-manufactured components, and community benefits including educational support, environmental justice initiatives, and workforce development programs.