The nation's largest municipal utility - the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power - has issued an RFP to acquire up to 1,320,000 megawatt-hours per year of renewable energy by 2010. LADWP is also developing a Renewable Portfolio Standard to increase its share of power generation through renewable sources - including biomass - to 20 percent by 2017. As reported in the May 2004 BioCycle, the Department has agreed to a 20-year, $320 million contract to buy biogas power from an anaerobic digestion plant which will use green waste as a feedstock
"The renewable energy RFP is a broad-based solicitation for hydro, wind, biomass, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy projects," says Frank Salas, acting general manager of LADWP. "We are seeking to attract high-quality proposals that will lay the foundation for expanding our capabilities to provide clean, sustainable and cost-effective power for years to come." The Department has installed 50 microturbines at Lopez Canyon Landfill that convert methane gas into energy.