The City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley have joined with 17 other local governments and agencies in the Bay Area to form the largest green-energy buying group by public agencies in the United States.



A news release this past week from the County of Alameda, the lead agency for the consortium, called it the "nation's largest collaborative procurement of renewable energy for public agencies."



The group, Regional Renewable Energy Procurement (R-Rep), spans four counties – Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara – and includes the four county governments, 11 cities and other public entities.



The collaboration plans to generate about 20 megawatts of power through the installation of "solar panels on rooftops and carports, fuel cell power generation systems, and rooftop solar thermal applications," Alameda County said.



The joint procurement will cut the cost of renewable energy for the participating agencies and "effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the amount generated by approximately 4,000 average-sized homes for an entire year," the news release said.



"Through collaborations like this one, we are helping to make Alameda County and the Bay Area a hub of innovation creating collaborative models that build sustainable communities," said a prepared statement from Keith Carson, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.



It is anticipated that Berkeley would develop 502 kilowatts under the plan, with 1,166 by UC Berkeley.



The largest amount by far would be 8,698 kilowatts by the County of Alameda, followed by 1,716 by the City of Fremont.



Alameda County plans to solicit bids through a two-part process, with Request for Qualifications followed by a Request for Propsosals, with an anticipated release date in September, the county said.



Vendors interested in participating are invited to register on the county's website.



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