The System Advisor Model (SAM) is a free techno-economic software model that facilitates decision-making for people in the renewable energy industry. Cities may want to utilize this tool as a check against proposed power purchase agreement prices and to generally better understand potential costs of renewable energy systems given certain inputs. Microsoft Excel-based versions of the model are also available.
Buying Clean Electricity: How Cities Benefit From Power Purchase Agreements
This brief provides an overview of power purchase agreements, introduces important considerations for cities, provides examples of power purchase agreements used by municipalities, and offers additional resource suggestions.
Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement Guidebook For Corporate & Industrial Purchasers
This report provides an overview and detailed explanation of terms and topics that cities should consider when structuring renewable energy power purchase agreements.
Request for Proposal Documents
This website hosts copies of Philadelphia’s Request for Proposal for large off-site power purchase agreement contracts, project term sheets, energy use data, standard contract provisions, and other documents.
Request for Proposal: Technical Consultant for the Procurement of a Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement
This is an example Request for Proposal document from Washington, DC for a technical consultant to support their procurement through a solicitation for a power purchase agreement. It can be utilized by cities looking to develop a similar Request for Proposal.
State-by-State Map of Energy Choice in the U.S.
This map indicates which U.S. states have retail choice legislation that enable off-site power purchase agreements.
RTO/ISO Energy Market Data
This website contains historical energy market data for six of the seven regional transmission organizations/independent system operators: CAISO, ERCOT, ISO-NE, MISO, NYISO, and PJM.
Renewable Energy Procurement: A Guide to Buying Off-Site Renewable Energy
This report describes how to get started on procuring off-site renewable energy, the associated opportunities, ways to make the business case, and planning the procurement process.
Institutional Renewable Energy Procurement: Guidance for Purchasing and Making Associated Environmental Impact Claims
This report outlines common renewable energy transaction structures, provides a framework for analyzing and prioritizing these options, and explains how to properly communicate the impact of different types of deals.
Guide to Purchasing Green Power
This report provides an overview and key details on each of the following procurement methods: physical power purchase agreements, financial power purchase agreement contracts, green tariffs, and self-generation.