At the heart of MCE’s work is our Power Resources team, which buys renewable energy on behalf of the 1.8 million residents and businesses the agency serves across four Bay Area counties. Each year, the team seeks new long-term opportunities from the market of renewable energy projects to secure contracts at stable costs while advancing California’s goal of 100% كهرباء خالية من الكربون بحلول عام 2045.
As MCE’s Power Procurement Manager, Andy Twilling plays a critical role in establishing the agency’s power mix and contracting for clean energy projects that will power local homes and businesses for decades to come. As a Marin County local and an experienced energy professional who previously led power procurement and EV deployment in the private sector, she brings unique experience to the agency.
As MCE prepares to launch its annual “Open Season” solicitation for renewable energy projects, Andy shares insights on what’s guiding the team’s approach and the trends they’re watching in today’s rapidly evolving energy market.
What’s top of mind for MCE’s Power Resources team as we launch this year’s Open Season? What types of resources are we prioritizing?
It is always top of mind for MCE’s procurement team to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and serve our communities with renewable energy at stable rates. Our mission drives all of MCE’s procurement decisions. This year, we’re especially looking forward to reviewing offers for wind and clean baseload generation, such as geothermal and biomass.
MCE already has a robust portfolio of solar projects and we’re looking for additional resources that will complement solar with electricity production during hours when the sun isn’t shining. Wind energy would be a great addition to MCE’s portfolio because it often produces energy at opposite times of the day compared to solar.
Over the past several years, MCE has contracted with over 700 megawatts of energy storage projects, and we’re excited to continue to evaluate how energy storage will contribute to our portfolio through this year’s Open Season. We plan on evaluating long‑duration storage (8+ hours) to meet our compliance obligations under the California Public Utilities Commission’s 2026 procurement order, as well as solar‑plus‑storage contracts that allow us to store energy during solar hours and discharge it to serve customers in the evening.
As part of our forward-looking procurement and our commitment to supporting new renewable projects, we’re soliciting bids from projects entering the California ISO’s Queue Cluster (“QC”) 16 process seeking Commercial Interest Points (“CIPs”). MCE will review bids we receive to identify projects to allocate our CIPs.
Queue Clusters and Commercial Interest Points may sound like energy jargon, but they directly shape what kinds of renewable projects get built. Through this process, we’re helping ensure that new renewable projects can move forward in the CAISO’s interconnection queue.
Supporting projects early in their development accelerates the transition to a cleaner energy future, and that transition has very real impacts on people’s daily lives, from healthier air quality to more resilient local economies.
What market trends are we watching?
We’re closely watching how batteries are reshaping energy markets. California has added extensive battery storage capacity in recent years, and that trend is only accelerating. Storage helps shift supply into the evening hours when demand peaks, and the extent to which these batteries flatten electricity prices throughout the day will have a direct impact on MCE.
It will be interesting to see how quickly emerging technologies, such as long‑duration storage and new approaches to geothermal development, can scale. We’re especially interested in innovations that can help bring down the cost of these promising resources.
What do you wish more people understood about how power procurement works?
How complicated it is! There are many risks involved in purchasing power, and the procurement team’s goal is to put together a portfolio that balances the different types of risks we see from each kind of contract. To give you some examples, just a few of the risks we consider are:
- Production risk: How likely is it for a resource to produce the power MCE expects? For example, in a drought year, a run-of-river hydroelectric project might produce far less electricity production than expected.
- Location risk: How much risk is there that the electricity will be able to travel along the transmission lines to MCE’s service territory? For example, if a solar project is in Southern California and the transmission lines to the Bay Area get overloaded, MCE may get less financial benefit from the project compared to what we expected.
- Development risk: How likely is it for a renewable electricity project to be canceled? We consider whether there could be issues or delays with obtaining permits, supply chain risks for getting appropriate electrical equipment onsite, or challenges with interconnecting with the grid.
How does this year’s Open Season differ from previous ones?
Last year, we issued a Long-Term Offer Request for Information due to the uncertainty in market conditions. This year we are returning to a formal request for offers that we call Open Season. This is the same process we’ve done in previous years that many developers will be familiar with.
What’s most exciting about the opportunities this Open Season could bring to our communities?
We’re inspired by the potential to procure additional projects that help fill the gaps between MCE’s solar‑rich portfolio and our customers’ electricity use throughout the day. We’re looking forward to seeing the projects that renewable developers submit that align with MCE’s goals and working with them to bring new renewable resources online, strengthening both our communities and California’s grid.
What inspired you to pursue a career in clean energy?
Growing up in Marin splashing in tidepools and hiking in the redwoods made me fall in love with our natural world. That led me to study biology and environmental science in college and graduate school. After graduating, I’ve built a career addressing climate change and environmental justice issues to contribute to creating a future where all life thrives on this planet. Everyone deserves clean air, clean water, and a habitable climate, and I’m proud to be contributing to that vision of the future.
I joined MCE’s procurement team in January of 2026, and it’s especially meaningful to get to serve my local community by procuring clean, renewable electricity in California.
Learn more about MCE’s 2026 Open Season at mcecleancleanenergy.org/solicitations/. The request for offers launches on June 17.
