To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: OPTERRA Energy Services Agreement
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
OPEN the public hearing on the Energy Services Contract with OPTERRA Energy Services, LLC.
RECEIVE testimony and CLOSE the public hearing.
FIND that the anticipated cost to Contra Costa County for electrical energy or conservation services provided by the energy conservation facility under the contract will be less than the anticipated marginal cost to the County for electrical or other energy that would have been consumed by the County in the absence of those purchases.
FIND that the project services to be performed under the Energy Services Contract are statutorily exempt from California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.35, and
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute an Energy Services Contract with OPTERRA Energy Services, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $11,000,000, for the installation of solar panels, battery energy storage system and electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the East County Service Center (ECSC) Project located at 100 Technology Way, Brentwood CA, for the term May 19, 2026 through May 18, 2030
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Board approved a contract with Webcor Construction for up to $155 million for the construction of the East County Service Center (ECSC) at its March 3, 2026 meeting. The proposed action would shift the portion of the construction contract scope related to solar, battery energy storage system (BESS) and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations from the Webcor construction contract to OPTERRA Energy Services, LLC (“OPTERRA”). Taking into account avoided energy costs, related tax credits and other projected saving, this approach is expected to result in a net County construction costs of approximately $153 million for the ECSC project.
The OPTERRA construction scope includes the solar array, $4,028,765, BESS, $2,342,773, and EV charging, $3,981,737 for a total construction cost of $10,353,275. The not-to-exceed contract amount of $11,000,000 includes a $646,725 contingency amount for unexpected conditions that may arise during construction.
Without the proposed project, the ECSC is estimated to consume $22,431,837 in electricity over the next 30 years, based on the projected building energy load and current and projected PG&E rates (see attached proforma 2 estimated PG&E costs). The project is expected to reduce payments to PG&E by more than 50%, with estimated remaining PG&E costs of $10,329,684 after accounting for approximately $12,102,154 in solar production savings. When combined with rebates, incentives, tax credits, EV charging revenue and other savings, the project is estimated to generate $17,860,962 in cumulative benefits to the County over the same 30-year period. Additional details are included in the attached pro forma and the background section below. In addition, this project will allow the County to apply for State of California Strategic Growth Council grant opportunity for the resiliency center portion of the building which could be up to an additional $10 million in grant funds for the project if successful.
BACKGROUND:
As a critical component of the new East County Service Center project, the County will be including a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) scope of work designed to 1) minimize future energy costs and 2) allow portions of the site to remain operational during power outages or Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. Due to the complex and integrated nature of solar photovoltaic (PV), Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), EV charging stations, and microgrid controls, the full energy program scope will be managed by OPTERRA.
Procuring this Solar PV and battery microgrid system is expected to reduce overall energy costs immediately by offsetting utility costs at the site, as shown in the attached pro forma estimate. The system is also expected to provide increasing value over time as EV charging demand grows due to County fleet electrification efforts and continued adoption of EVs by County employees and the general public. This project is being procured pursuant to Government Code 4217.10 et seq. which allows direct procurement of energy services if found to be in the best interest of the County. In order to secure the necessary American-made PV panels to be eligible to receive anticipated tax credits, time did not allow for a full RFP process. Government Code 4217.10 et seq. was expressly written to allow government entities to streamline procurement of energy services when deemed necessary by their governing body.
The proposed contract with OPTERRA includes installation of a 683 kW solar PV system consisting of four separate parking lot canopy structures, a 250 kW/609 kWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), 84 Level 2 EV charging ports and 4 DC Fast Charging ports, along with microgrid controls which enable a portion of the system to remain powered during planned and unplanned power outages. OPTERRA will also provide ongoing maintenance services as well as resiliency (back-up power operational) services to support the microgrid operation during outage events and ongoing diagnostics to ensure efficient and cost-effective operations.
The contract is not a power purchase agreement. It does not contain an energy savings guarantee, nor does it contain a solar PV or BESS system performance guarantee. Under the contract, the County waives any such guarantee to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
The industry-standard for payback period for government solar projects in California in 2026 is approximately 8-12 years. This is slightly longer than the previous year’s standard of 7-10 years because of the change to the State’s Net Energy Metering policy (NEM 3.0). Because utilities now provide reduced compensation for excess solar energy exported to the grid, payback periods have generally lengthened. One strategy to maximize the value of a solar system under the current rate structure, is to pair solar PV with BESS. This project does so by allowing stored power to be used during peak demand periods and by allowing excess energy to be exported when it can generate the greatest value based on PG&E rate schedules. The combined $6,371,538 cost of the solar and BESS systems is projected to be recovered in year 10, as shown in the yellow-highlighted row on the attached pro forma.
Under the contract, the County agrees to indemnify and defend OPTERRA against losses caused by (1) County owned or generated hazardous substances, except for liabilities due to the negligence or willful misconduct of OPTERRA or its subcontractors, and (2) County’s negligence or willful misconduct in its performance of its obligations under the contract.
The County is utilizing the same procurement methodology used for the Solar PV project at 1026 Escobar St. in Martinez, which serves the County Administration building. OPTERRA (then DBA ENGIE Services) constructed and currently maintains the 1026 Escobar parking lot Solar PV system. That system is currently producing 106% of the expected solar production and is returning 123% of the expected savings, reducing the expected payback period by three years. The cost of construction of the solar array on the Administration Building Project parking lot was $1.88 million and the project will have fully recouped full construction cost in year 10 (2029).
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Not approving the contract would result in significant redesign of the solar site and potentially delay completion of the building and parking canopy facilities at ECSC. Delay in completion of the project may result in a loss of the anticipated tax credits.