Welcome to the California Energy Commission

Existing Renewables Facilities Program

The purpose of the Existing Renewable Facilities Program (ERFP) was to allocate funds collected from investor-owned utility ratepayers through a public goods charge to increase the competitiveness of existing (operational on or prior to September 26, 1996) in-state renewable generating facilities. The goal of the ERFP was to create a self-sustaining market for existing facilities by which these facilities can operate without public funding by no later than December 31, 2011.

The ERFP funded existing facilities from 1998 through 2011. The Energy Commission provided payments to eligible facilities based on their renewable electricity production. A history of the program's funding allocation can be found here. From 2008 through 2011, the Energy Commission capped total program expenditures at $18 million per calendar year.

Authority to collect funding for the ERFP ended on December 31, 2011. Under continued authority to spend remaining funds, the Energy Commission continued to provide incentive payments to eligible facilities for electricity generated in 2011, until the annual funding cap was reached.

Below is a summary of incentive payments by technology over the life of the program.

ERFP Payment History by Resource Type
Resource Total Payout
Million $		 Period Funded
Biomass $232.78 1998-2011
Digester Gas $0.02 1998-2001
Geothermal $16.39 1998-2001
Landfill Gas $2.78 1998-2001
Small Hyrdo $4.54 1998-2001
Solar Thermal $41.97 1998-2011
Waste Tire $4.21 1998-2000
Wind $36.42 1998-2001
Total $339.141 1998-2011

1. The total amount of payments made is $339.14 million, but the total payout per resource type does not add up to this
due to the rounding of the individual payouts.

For more information regarding the Existing Renewable Facilities Program, please refer to the Guidebook or contact:

Garry O'Neill
E-mail: garry.oneill@energy.ca.gov
Phone: 800-555-7794

Media inquiries should be sent to the Media and Public Communications Office at mediaoffice@energy.ca.gov or (916) 654-4989.