The CDCS application window for the 2023-2024 Program Year closes August 30, 2023 (90 days after start of Program Year). Please see Section 5 of the Program Guidebook for more information. Applications will not be accepted after close of the application window until the next Program Year. Waitlisted projects from the 2022-2023 Program Year will receive 2023-2024 capacity. After capacity is awarded to those projects, there will be 8.5 MW of capacity available for Group A and 17.7 MW of capacity available for Group B projects submitted in the 2023-2024 Program Year. For a successful CDCS application submission, the Program Administrator team reminds AVs that:
- Appendix F of the Guidebook (page 126) outlines the Community-Driven Community Solar Scoring Criteria and the published guidance and rubric on the CDCS webpage.
- The goal of the selection criteria is to reward projects that provide direct and tangible connections and benefits to the communities in which CDCS projects serve. Please ensure that all connections and benefits are linked back to the community.
- For primary criterion B, please quantify all benefits over the 15 years of the REC contract and provide an explanation for the sources/assumptions included in the calculations. The benefits must also be clearly directed to the defined geographic community in which the project is located.
- For primary criteria C and D, please document all community involvement that occurred prior to application submission. Then also outline the planned community involvement that will occur throughout the future phases of the project. Details including the names of community members/organizations, the type & date(s) of involvement, and the cadence of past and future involvement will allow for more favorable scores.
- For secondary criterion H, please include items that have not already been addressed in the other scoring criteria.
