Grants for Community Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Projects Providing Direct Benefits to Low and Moderate Income Residential Electric Customers

NH Department of Energy RFP #2023-004 Page: 4 to provide on-bill credits for each member and the host along with a 2.5 cent per kWh addition for low-moderate income community solar projects. Pursuant to RSA 362-F:10, VIII, the DOE may, after notice and hearing, by order or rule, establish additional incentive or rebate programs for customer-sited thermal and renewable energy projects to be supported by the REF. This RFP is issued pursuant to RSA 362-F:10, VIII, and DOE Order Approving Request for Proposals Competitive Solicitation for Low-Moderate Income Solar Project Funding in Fiscal Year 2023, issued November 8, 2022. The DOE is seeking proposals from qualified individuals, entities, or multiple entities for community solar projects that would provide direct benefits to LMI residential electric customers, as the means of meeting the statutory requirements. For the purposes of this RFP, a residential electric customer is a residential customer of an electric utility that receives

electric bills in the customers name. The total funding available under this RFP is $141,213. All grant awards are contingent upon final grant agreement approval by the Governor and Executive Council. B. Definitions As used in this RFP, the term project includes both the equipment and facilities comprising the solar PV system, and the management and administration of financing, funding, operations, maintenance, benefits provision, participating customer income verification, admission, replacement, education, communications, and other related matters. C. Basic Project Eligibility Requirements To be eligible for funding, projects must meet the following minimum requirements: 1. Proposers must propose new resident-owned or third party-owned ground-mounted, carport, or rooftop, community solar PV projects, including, but not limited to, those located in or otherwise serving affordable multi-family rental housing or resident-owned manufactured housing communities. 2. Projects must utilize grant funds primarily for capital investments in new solar PV projects that will result in a quantifiable direct benefit to a minimum of five residential electric customers within the same electric distribution utility service territory and where at least the majority of participants must be LMI. Consistent with RSA 362-F:2, X-a, LMI is defined as end-user customers whose income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.4 For the purposes of this proposal, moderate income participants are defined as end-user customers 4 The 2023 Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) may be found at: Federal Register :Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/19/2023-00885/annual-update-of-the-hhs-poverty-guidelines NH Department of Energy RFP #2023-004 Page: 5 whose income is more than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines but less than or equal to 300 percent of those guidelines. 3. Projects must adhere to the statutory requirements of RSA 362-F:2, X-a and provide direct benefits to LMI customers from the date of initial operation through the earlier to occur of (i) 20 years, or (ii) the end of the projects useful operational life. 4. Projects must be operational no later than twenty-four (24) months after grant agreement approval by the Governor and Executive Council. 5. Proposers may not also request and/or receive funding from the Non-residential Competitive Grant Program, C&I Renewable Energy Rebate Program, or Residential Renewable Electric Generation Incentive Program for the same project. 6. Projects shall not be ineligible for the grant if they also intend to submit a proposal in response to any future competitive solicitation that may be issued to implement the electric assistance program (EAP) customer solar project program provided for under Senate Bill 270 (2022), but no project shall be eligible for the FY 2023 LMI grant program if its proposal is expressly contingent on its selection in any such future separate solicitation under that other program. 7. Grantees must commit to seeking REC eligibility in New Hampshire for the project, including but not limited to submitting a complete application for REC eligibility to the DOE. 8. Only community solar PV projects are eligible for funding under this RFP. 9. Projects must be physically located in New Hampshire; any point of grid interconnection must also be in New Hampshire. Neither the project nor the end- user customers to be served by the system may be located in, or a customer of, a municipal electric utility. 10. Proposers must confirm that control of any site(s) on which their project(s) will be constructed has been secured, through ownership, lease, or binding option to acquire or lease such site(s). 11. Projects requesting full funding through this RFP must demonstrate that a minimum of 75% of the projects net revenues from electric generation will directly benefit LMI participants. II. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS The overall proposal emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content. Proposals that are incomplete or unsigned will not be considered. Proposals shall include the following information, and respond to all areas listed below, in the order listed. NH Department of Energy RFP #2023-004 Page: 6 A. Letter of Transmittal Include the name of the proposer, contact information for, and signature of, the individual authorized to bind the proposer (or of the proposer), and identify the proposers point of contact for this proposal. (1 page) B. Project Summary Sheet Please use the form provided in Attachment A, Project Summary Sheet. C. Technical Project Proposal 1. Overview of project site location (including panoramic and aerial site photos) and description of where array is to be sited. 2. System size (kW AC and kW DC), and generating facility equipment, including manufacturer and model (if applicable) of inverters, panels, racking, production meter and monitoring software. 3. Solar PV system schematic (including one-line drawing), with an attached copy of any relevant engineering or feasibility studies. 4. Solar Site Survey, including a solar shading analysis and estimated annual production; a minimum of 80% optimal insolation is required. Please attach a copy of the Solar Site Survey. 5. Projected kilowatt-hours (kWh) to be generated (annual and lifetime) and the assumptions (e.g., capacity factor) used for the estimate. 6. Project timeline, including start date, key milestones in project progress (e.g., design, permitting, construction, start-up, commissioning), and expected interconnection date. 7. List of permits and approvals required and status of such permits and approvals, including any lease or site-control arrangements with property owners. Please attach a copy of any applicable lease agreement or any other documents that demonstrate site control. 8. Describe the status of the interconnection review process. Provide the date on which each of the following steps occurred or is anticipated to occur: i) submittal of Pre-Application, ii) submittal of Interconnection Request, iii) execution of System Impact Study Agreements, iv) execution of Interconnection Agreement. 9. If a roof-mounted system, demonstrate that a structural analysis has been completed. 10. Describe project ownership structure, identify system owner, identify site owner, if different, including names of all project owners and project site ownership and/or leasing structure, and describe any power purchase agreement (PPA), if applicable. Please attach a copy of any applicable PPA. Please include letter of support from the site owner, if applicable. NH Department of Energy RFP #2023-004 Page: 7 11. Describe assignments and roles of individual key project personnel, listing the project developer, solar installation company, NH licensed electrician, and any other project personnel. 12. Describe operations and maintenance plan for the system, including short- term and long-term system operation, maintenance, and monitoring arrangements, and estimated project lifespan, including any associated costs. 13. Describe the Labor and Product Warranties; note that a minimum of five years labor warranty is required. Projects must include a long-term plan for one full replacement of project inverters. D. Project Model A narrative description comprehensively addressing how the community solar PV project will be designed and managed, and the net benefits that will be provided directly to participating LMI customers: 1. LMI Participant Benefits: i. Describe estimated monthly or annual direct electric bill impacts (in kWh) to LMI participants, if applicable, and any allocation of kW to LMI participants and to non-LMI participants. ii. Describe all benefits to be provided to LMI participants and how those benefits will be provided to LMI participants (e.g., through on- bill credits, group net metering (GNM), rental payment reduction, association dues reduction, etc.). Projects that include direct cash payments to LMI participants will score lower on relevant criteria than projects that do not, because direct cash payments may affect LMI participants eligibility for other programs, such as TANF, Medicaid, and SNAP (as defined below in subsection vii). iii. Proposers must provide data projections expressed in dollars that clearly demonstrate the annual net direct benefits to each LMI participant for the first 10 years following initial operation of the PV system (data for additional years may be presented if desired). iv. List the total number of LMI participants, including the number of low income and the number of moderate income participants, and the number of non-LMI participants (individual names are not required; general descriptions may be provided, however the proposer must be able to verify names and income levels upon request). v. Describe any costs to LMI participants including initial joining/subscription fees (fee amount must be specified), and any ongoing subscription fees, including amount, frequency, and term and any other costs to LMI participants. vi. Describe any other costs to LMI participants not included above; describe costs to non-LMI participants, including all elements described in 1(v). vii. Describe any identified potential impacts on public benefits program eligibility of participating LMI customers (such as Section 8 rent NH Department of Energy RFP #2023-004 Page: 8 subsidy, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), etc.). viii. Describe possible tax consequences to LMI participants. If the proposed system is to be owned by LMI participants, please describe measures taken to avoid excess production payments from being considered taxable income. ix. Describe ownership interest of the LMI participants, if applicable. x. Describe if array is located in a solar tax-exempt town/city. Please estimate the annual property tax costs associated with the array. 2. Participant Communications: i. Describe how LMI participants will be identified/recruited, initial and ongoing income verification, etc. ii. Define proposed method for and cost of income verification. Identify who will pay those costs. iii. Describe process for subscription management, including handling new (additional) participants and/or enrollment of replacement participants. iv. Describe method of participant engagement, participating customer education and outreach, and ongoing communication. 3. Ownership Model: i. Provide a clear description of who will own the community solar PV system and for how long. If ownership will be transferred or sold during the operational life of the system, please explain when and how that will take place, and what, if any, transaction costs will occur and who will pay them. ii. If the community solar PV system is third party owned, describe plans for effective management and communications between third party owner and organization providing direct benefits to participating residential electric customers. iii. Provide a statement verifying that the grantee will submit an application for the project to be certified as eligible for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in New Hampshire. iv. Define the party that owns the RECs and who will benefit from the sale of the RECs. 4. Metering Arrangements: i. Will this project be serving a master-metered building or individual meters? ii. Describe any GNM arrangements, if applicable, including how community solar PV benefits will be provided to participating customers. iii. Describe any on-bill-credit arrangements required, if applicable, including how community solar PV benefits will be provided to