City of Palo Alto Utilities - Palo Alto CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now)

City Palo Alto Utility's Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN) program provides fixed payments for electricity produced by approved photovoltaic systems over a fixed period of time. This type of program is commonly referred to as a feed-in tariff. Originally, the program allowed participants to choose between 10-year, 15-year and 20-year contracts. As of June 2015, the only option is a 20-year contract for a price of $0.165 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

There is no minimum or maximum system size to participate. The solar generating facility may be located anywhere in Palo Alto city limits as long as it complies with all City codes and interconnection requirements. Systems may be ground-mounted, roof-mounted, or mounted on carports, though the utility recommends investigating the codes and requirements applicable to the site prior to submitting an application.

Applicants must submit a reservation deposit of $20 per kW. Winning projects will have one year to complete construction. If the project is completed within the year, the deposit will be returned to the applicant. Projects that take longer to become operational may sacrifice a portion of their deposit.

See the program web site listed above for more information on this program.