California Community Program Adds 260MWh of Battery Storage

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California is experiencing rolling blackouts and other power uncertainties caused by wildfires. To increase grid reliability, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) community choice energy program, CleanPowerSF, signed two new renewable energy contracts that are anticipated to ensure electricity reliability for the program’s 380,000 customers in San Francisco.

The two contracts are executed with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and EDF Renewables. Specifically, with NextEra, the investment consists of the construction of a 20-megawatt solar project coupled with a 60-megawatt hour of energy storage. Dubbed Crow Creek Energy Center, the solar photovoltaic development will be located in Stanislaus County, and, as part of the contract, NextEra Energy Resources will provide $100,000 in community benefits over the first five years of the agreement. Roughly 60 full-time jobs are expected to be created during construction.

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The second contract was signed with EDF Renewables and will materialize into a 200-megawatt hour battery storage system to the previously announced 20-year solar power purchase agreement for Maverick 6 Solar project—a development located in Riverside County with a capacity of 100 megawatts. This project is anticipated to begin commercial operations in December 2021 and will account for 12 percent of CleanPowerSF’s renewable energy supply. The construction and operation of Maverick 6 is estimated to create between 150 and 200 full-time jobs.

The community choice energy program launched in 2016 and, in addition to the recent two contracts, it has invested in four other large solar and wind energy developments in California since 2018. Moreover, along with CleanPowerSF, the SFPUC operates Hetch Hetchy Power, which provides 100 percent greenhouse gas-free energy to public facilities such as the City Hall, schools and libraries, some private developments and affordable housing communities. Combined, the two programs meet more than 70 percent of the electricity demand in San Francisco.