Title
Approval of a Power and Renewable Energy Credit Sales Agreement, County Agreement No. AGR20-926 between Uniper Global Commodities North America, LLC and the Incorporated County of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Recommended Action
I move that the Board of Public Utilities approve AGR20-936, a Power and Renewable Energy Credit Sales Agreement, between Uniper Global Commodities North America, LLC and the Incorporated County of Los Alamos and forward to Council with a recommendation for approval.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval as presented.
Body
The Department of Public Utilities has been working to achieve the BPU’s 2040 Carbon Neutral strategic initiative. Many paths have been explored for renewable energy projects here in New Mexico whereby DPU could participate and enjoy the economies of scale that come with the very large wind and solar projects. Due to the past and continuing efforts of staff, an exciting new opportunity has been developed with Uniper Global Commodities (“Uniper”) to participate in a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for combined wind and solar projects in New Mexico that can provide 15MW of low-cost renewable energy. Additional value is added by the firm, Around-The-Clock (ATC) nature of the power, which is very unusual for PPA's of this small scale and cost. This contract will supply 131,400 MWh of energy on an annual basis of which approximately 103,000 MWh is renewable.
The following sections describe the proposed PPA structure, the economic analysis over the term of the PPA that make it a good choice for Los Alamos County, and how it fits well with the County’s resource portfolio and Carbon Neutral 2040 strategic initiative.
This Contract Quantity is a Firm 15 MW’s ATC, at a Delivered Rate of $36.67/MWh. It is a take-or-pay Power Purchase Agreement for a 15 year term with no escalator. The energy and capacity will be sourced primarily from a wind and solar projects located in New Mexico. Attachment 1...
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