EBCE Expands Its Renewable Energy and Storage Portfolio with Three New Contracts

Contracts include energy storage on low-income housing

Oakland, Calif. – The East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) board of directors tonight approved another three agreements for 112 megawatts (MW) of power from a new solar facility, along with 7.5 MW of battery energy storage, to be built in Kern and Alameda Counties. The projects build upon 213.5 MW of new renewable energy projects and 50 MW of energy storage approved by the EBCE board through four contracts in June. The seven agreements combined total 325.5 MW of new renewable energy generation and 57.5 MW of energy storage. EBCE is a Community Choice Energy provider that serves most of Alameda County and is committed to increasing clean power within its local communities.

Two of the new agreements expand the Oakland Clean Energy Initiative (OCEI), which aims to replace the 40-year-old “Oakland Power Plant” in Jack London Square with clean energy resources. The two storage projects will provide EBCE with local resource adequacy – electricity-generating capacity that is available to serve demand.

One project will provide 7 MW of resource adequacy from energy storage through an agreement with esVolta, LP and is contingent on a joint purchasing effort with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Another project with Sunrun, Inc. will be to develop several megawatts of solar and more than two megawatt-hours of batteries on more than 500 low-income housing units by 2022. This will deliver 500 kilowatts of grid reliability capacity to EBCE over a 10-year contracted period as a standalone agreement.

The EBCE and Sunrun project represents a leading example in the United States of home solar and battery systems directly contributing to the replacement of a retiring fossil fuel-fired power peaker plant.

The third agreement is a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 112 MW of solar energy from a new installation in Kern County. In addition to the solar PPA, the developer, Clearway Energy Group, has also agreed to offer EBCE an exclusive right to purchase output from a 43 MW wind project in Alameda County.

Below is a summary of the most recent agreements:

Randolph Mann, President of esVolta, said “Energy storage technology is helping enable California’s transition to a cleaner, lower carbon electricity system. We are proud to support EBCE’s innovative Oakland Clean Energy Initiative with a new battery project planned for the West Oakland neighborhood, which will provide emissions free power capacity and strengthen the local grid.”

“Sunrun is excited to partner with East Bay Community Energy to help pave the way towards a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system,” said Lynn Jurich, Sunrun co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Our company is built on the foundation that solar energy should be accessible to everyone, particularly those communities most impacted by pollution and which today lack access to clean energy. Shifting from an aging, dirty fossil fuel power plant to energy provided by home solar and batteries will ensure that West Oakland residents are at the center of the clean energy transition.”

In 2018, Sunrun established a goal to develop a minimum of 100 megawatts of solar on affordable multi-family housing, where 80% of tenants fall below 60% of the area median income, during the next decade in California. This project will support Sunrun’s goals while also further expanding access to clean solar energy and battery storage for low-income EBCE customers in Oakland and Alameda County.

“As California continues its push toward 100% clean energy, we’re thrilled to partner with CCAs like East Bay Community Energy that will play a crucial role in that transition,” said Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway Energy Group. “Rosamond Central Solar represents a huge step forward for the state’s clean energy and climate goals. We’re proud that this project will deliver affordable clean energy to the communities that EBCE serves.”

“California has critical goals for addressing climate change and these clean energy contracts are accelerating our progress towards reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions on a shorter timeframe. Our communities are demanding meaningful change and EBCE is making that happen,” said EBCE Board Chair and Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb.

New agreements supplement a growing portfolio of renewable energy and storage projects across California, that are the result of a competitive solicitation run by EBCE to deliver on its promise to increase the use of renewable energy.

The agreements signed last month include:

EBCE is a not-for-profit public agency that operates a Community Choice Energy program for Alameda County and eleven incorporated cities, serving more than 550,000 residential and commercial customers throughout the county. EBCE initiated service in June 2018 and is one of 19 community choice aggregation (CCA) programs operating in California. CCAs are expediting the climate action goals of their communities and those of California.

Additional information from previous press releases can be found at these links:

EBCE is the local electricity provider created by the votes of 11 City Councils and the County of Alameda Board of Supervisors to provide low cost, cleaner power to our community. Launching to residential customers in November 2018, EBCE joined 19 other Community Choice Energy programs operating across California. EBCE is committed to providing clean power at competitive rates while reinvesting in our local communities. For more information about East Bay Community Energy, visit https://ebce.org/.

esVolta is a developer, owner and operator of utility-scale energy storage projects across North America. The company’s portfolio of operational plus contracted projects exceeds 500 MWh of capacity, and the firm is developing a large pipeline of future storage projects. esVolta has a strategic procurement arrangement with Powin Energy Corporation. More information about esVolta is available at www.esVolta.com.

Sunrun (Nasdaq:RUN) is the nation’s largest residential solar, storage and energy services company. With a mission to create a planet run by the sun, Sunrun has led the industry since 2007 with its solar-as-a-service model, which provides clean energy to households with little to no upfront cost and at a saving compared to traditional electricity. The company designs, installs, finances, insures, monitors and maintains the systems, while families receive predictable pricing for 20 years or more. The company also offers a home solar battery service, Sunrun Brightbox, that manages household solar energy, storage and utility power. For more information, please visit: www.sunrun.com.