Clean Power Alliance (CPA), the single largest provider of 100% renewable energy plans to customers in the United States, has announced the approval of a 15-year contract with the Heber South Geothermal facility located in Imperial Valley, CA. During its May 6 meeting the CPA Board of Directors approved the Heber South contract, which will contribute to CPA's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and enhance overall reliability for CPA's more than one million southern California customer accounts.
Once the long-term contract takes effect January 1, 2022, the facility will add 14 Megawatts of renewable energy to CPA's already diverse energy portfolio, enough to power 19,400 homes for a year or one percent of CPA's overall demand. With an expected average annual generation of 116,508 MWh, the project will also allow CPA to further comply with the state of California's aggressive renewable energy mandates.
"This marks the thirteenth long-term renewable energy contract our Board of Directors has approved since our inception, with Heber South being the first geothermal contract to be added to this list," said Ted Bardacke, Executive Director for Clean Power Alliance. "These long-term contracts will account for more than a third of our overall load once they come online. This goes a long way toward reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing energy costs for our customers, and further stabilizing California's electricity grid."
Geothermal power is power generated by geothermal energy. Geothermal power plants use hydrothermal resources that have both water (hydro) and heat (thermal). The hot water or steam powers a turbine that then generates electricity.
CPA will pay for the output of the geothermal generation of the project at a fixed-price rate per MWh for the full-term of the 15-year contract. Under the contract, CPA is entitled to all product attributes from the facility, including energy and renewable energy credits (RECs).
In addition, the contract better enables CPA to reach its regulatory obligations under SB 100 and SB 350, which require that 65% of Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance related renewable energy supply be sourced from long-term contracts beginning in the 2021-2024 compliance period.
The Heber South project is located within a Disadvantage Community (DAC), providing workforce opportunities and community benefits to the region. The project will also support 10 permanent jobs due to the project's ongoing operation via this long-term contract with CPA.
The Heber South project has a firm transmission agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District to deliver power to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) at the Coachella Valley substation.
About Clean Power Alliance
Founded in 2017, Clean Power Alliance is the locally operated electricity provider for 30 cities across Los Angeles County and Ventura County as well as the unincorporated areas of both counties. CPA is the fifth largest electricity provider in California and the single largest provider of 100% renewable energy to customers in the nation. CPA serves approximately three million customers via one million customer accounts, providing clean renewable energy at competitive rates. For more information visit cleanpoweralliance.org.
Clean Power Alliance of Southern California | www.cleanpoweralliance.org
Media Contact:
Joseph Cabral, External Affairs Manager
213-442-8109
jcabral@cleanpoweralliance.org
