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GFO-23-311 – Advancing Precipitation Enhancement in California

CA Energy Commission · 59781

Eligibility details

This solicitation is open to all public and private entities with the exception of local publicly owned electric utilities.

Matching funds & resources

Source matching-funds field: 5%. Match funding is required in the amount of at least 5% of the requested CEC funds.

Matching funds and leveraged resources are different requirements. Read the description and reviewed rules below before determining resource commitments.

About this opportunity

The proposed research contributes to implementation of the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) 2021-2025 Investment Plan and responds to the strategic objective: “Inform California's Transition to an Equitable, Zero-Carbon Energy System that is Climate-Resilient and Meets Environmental Goals” (Chapter 7). Specifically, this solicitation supports the topic 44 within the Climate Resilience Initiative: “Integrating Climate Resilience in Electricity System Planning.” Hydroelectric power is an important source of zero-carbon, dispatchable power in California. It is a critical element of the state’s electricity system and in-state generation, providing peaking reserve, spinning reserve, and load following capacity, as well as transmission line support (Somani, et al., 2021). The percentage of the state’s electricity supplied by hydropower varies, as hydropower resources are strongly dependent on magnitude and timing of snowmelt runoff and rainfall. Between 2012 and 2021, hydropower (including in-state generation and imports) provided an average of 9 percent of California’s total energy mix (California Energy Commission 2022). As the state continues to contend with drought and other climate-driven impacts on water and hydropower resource availability, as well as develop more sustainable water management practices (California Water Action Plan, 2014), the proposed research will support opportunities for increasing and sustaining hydropower generation. Specifically, the research will contribute to more effective precipitation enhancement (cloud seeding) strategies.

Funding geography: No local publicly owned electric utilities.

Funding instrument: Grant. Issuing jurisdiction: California. This is not a geographic eligibility determination.