CCA: EAST BAY COMMUNITY ENERGY BOARD APPROVES 100 PERCENT RENEWABLE GOAL, NUCLEAR SALES AGREEMENT
Community choice aggregate East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) plans to reach a 100 percent clean energy goal by 2030, 15 years ahead of the state schedule.
But while the CCA will not be including nuclear in its power portfolio, the resource is not entirely off the table. The aggregate's board confirmed the goal while also approving an agreement to accept nuclear and hydro allocations from utility PG&E. EBCE will be serving nearly 7 TWh of energy in 2021 following the addition of three cities to its portfolio, making it one of the largest players in community choice energy across California.
The hydro power will be used as part of the new energy goal, but the nuclear energy from the Diablo Canyon plant will be sold to a third party, the proceeds of which Henderson said would be used for its local business development plan and programs. The generating station is set to be decommissioned in 2024, but EBCE's share of revenue could range from USD 500,000 to USD 1m. EBCE vice president Annie Henderson, however, confirmed that nuclear energy would not be part of EBCE's energy mix and would not be requested in any current or upcoming solicitations.
"I don’t think anyone else has contemplated taking this allocation and selling it before us, so we’re going to test this out," Henderson said. "We do have a third-party offtaker, so it won’t be part of our portfolio next that we report."
East Bay has made strong progress in its two-year lifespan, with 550 MW of wind and solar and 150 MW of storage contracted to date. The aggregate closed its 2020 RFO on 1 December for new renewable energy and energy storage projects between 10 and 150 MW, accepting any type of clean project except nuclear. Henderson said EBCE does not have specific plans on when it will release additional solicitations, she expects it will be upcoming as EBCE looks to meet its new goal.
"We’re always looking to commit to projects that are within our service territory," Henderson said. "Of course, it’s important to have a diverse array of projects in our portfolio, both geographically as well as the technology, and so we’ll continue to do that over the next 10 years to get us to 100 percent clean energy, the bulk of which will be renewables."
Aggregates and other small-scale LSEs such as co-ops have made large progress in achieving the energy goals of different states, often ahead of schedule. Just this week, Colorado cooperative utility Holy Cross Energy announced it would also be seeking 100 percent clean energy by 2030, making the non-IOU LSEs a space to watch as clean energy deadlines approach.
"By setting itself on an aggressive path to meet 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, East Bay Community Energy is demonstrating that the future can be fully powered by renewable energy," said CAISO Board Chair Angelina Galiteva. "This type of leadership is more critical than ever as we work to decarbonize California's economy and as the United States seeks to re-engage globally on climate action.”
How the entities will meet their goals, however, will differ across the board, as displayed with EBCE's nuclear agreement. Additionally, while East Bay participated in an earlier joint RFI this year on long-duration, it declined to take part in a joint RFO that followed as it was not confident in the commercial viability of long-duration prior to the 2026 deadline. Strategic Operations Analyst at EBCE Vanessa Gerber, however, told New Project Media that the agency would be accepting long-duration storage bids, but it was not explicitly seeking them out.
"We all have slightly different ways that our boards are looking to address these issues or slightly different strategies, certainly very different loads and customers that we serve, but I do think [the goals are] going to be the norm for CCAs," Henderson said.