Peninsula Clean Energy has reached a 15-year deal to exclusively receive 45 megawatts (MW) of battery storage that further pushes the agency toward its goal of providing renewable energy at all hours of the day and night. It also contributes toward Peninsula Clean Energy fulfilling its regulatory obligations to provide new capacity for a reliable electric grid.
Peninsula Clean Energy will receive all capacity attributes from a four-hour lithium ion battery storage project that Terra-Gen will develop near Barstow in San Bernardino County. The facility, part of a larger redevelopment of the existing SEGS VIII solar thermal project, is expected to be operational in June 2024. The storage facility will tap into existing interconnection facilities and will be constructed using union labor.
It is Peninsula Clean Energy's second stand-alone battery storage project deal signed this year. The agency recently approved a deal to receive 50 MW of four-hour lithium ion battery storage from the Nova III facility in Riverside County beginning in August 2024.
The storage projects give Peninsula Clean Energy two near-term tools for reaching the agency's goal of providing 24/7 renewable energy by helping to shift plentiful solar-powered energy into evening and overnight hours.
"Our priority is securing sufficient, low-cost, clean sources of power, while also ensuring reliability for our customers," Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Jan Pepper said. "Battery storage is a critical component of our strategy and allows us to take the lead among all utilities in demonstrating it is possible to provide hourly renewable energy in a cost-effective way."
"The SEGS VIII project has a long history supporting California's journey towards clean and reliable power generation. The redevelopment of the project will expand that effort through the deployment of new large-scale renewables and energy storage," Terra-Gen CEO Jim Pagano said. "We are pleased to continue our relationship with Peninsula Clean Energy and contribute to their goal of providing 24/7 renewable energy to their customers."
Peninsula Clean Energy has aggressively pursued additional renewable and storage resources, while maintaining a five-percent discount compared to what the agency's customers in San Mateo County and city of Los Banos would be paying for generation services through PG&E.
This includes being one of the first public agencies nationwide to utilize newly expanded federal renewable energy incentives in reaching innovative agreements with nine cities and the County of San Mateo to install solar and future battery storage on public buildings.
About Peninsula Clean Energy
Peninsula Clean Energy is a Community Choice Aggregation agency. It is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and for the City of Los Banos. Founded in 2016 with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the agency serves a population of 810,000 by providing more than 3,600 gigawatt hours annually of electricity that is 50 percent renewable, 100 percent clean and at lower cost than PG&E. As a community-led, not-for-profit agency, Peninsula Clean Energy makes significant investments in its communities to expand access to sustainable and affordable energy solutions. Peninsula Clean Energy is on track to deliver electricity that is 100 percent renewable by 2025. The agency has earned investment grade credit ratings from Moody's and Fitch. Follow us at PenCleanEnergy.com, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
