Peninsula Clean Energy, a community choice aggregation agency and the electricity provider for San Mateo County, Calif., and the City of Los Banos, Calif., will begin receiving 200 MW of power for 15 years starting in 2026 from Pattern Energy’s SunZia Wind project in New Mexico, which will be the largest wind farm in the Western Hemisphere.
The 220 MW will supply 13% of the agency’s total annual electricity demand.
Peninsula Clean Energy is the first CCA agency to sign a contract to receive power from the SunZia Wind project, which in total will generate up to 3,515 MW of wind power serving the western United States grid.
“SunZia Wind supercharges our plan to deliver 24/7 affordable renewable power in the near future,” Peninsula Clean Energy CEO Shawn Marshall says. “By providing reliable power whether or not the sun is shining, this contract is a game changer toward meeting our hourly renewable power matching goal than any other long-term power contract we have signed to date.”
“This project represents a series of firsts for Peninsula Clean Energy and the larger utility sector,” adds Rick DeGolia, Atherton council member and chair of Peninsula Clean Energy’s board of directors. “As the agency’s largest wind contract, it will continue to advance PCE as an industry leader in procuring reliable renewable power that is responsive to our load shape and reliability requirements.”
As the agency’s first out-of-state renewable project contract, SunZia will provide both geographic and seasonal diversity to Peninsula Clean Energy’s electricity generation as the agency makes headway toward its 24/7 renewable power goal. That includes providing higher wind generation during the winter months, when solar energy generated in California is at its lowest during the year.
The contract also includes prevailing wage requirements, including annual third-party auditing to ensure compliance with Peninsula Clean Energy’s labor policies.
