Clean Power Alliance signs on for 60-MW solar, 152-MWh storage project in California

California electricity provider Clean Power Alliance (CPA) has approved the Azalea Solar + Storage project. Azalea is the fourth renewable energy and storage project approved by CPA in the last three months, which will collectively result in $410 million in new investment in Southern California’s clean energy economy.
All four projects will help CPA meet the State of California’s SB 100 renewable energy targets as well as the high renewable energy demand of CPA’s customers. The storage portions of these projects will provide reliable evening peak energy and allow CPA to meet part of its California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) incremental capacity requirements. CPA plans to continue its expansion of clean energy and storage supply with additional projects currently under negotiation through CPA’s 2019 Reliability Request for Offers and 2019 Clean Energy Request for Offers.
“Now more than ever, we need to move swiftly to keep advancing a sustainable future where we successfully transition off dirty fuels,” said Ted Bardacke, Executive Director, Clean Power Alliance. “Planning for the long-term and investing in new clean energy infrastructure can improve the economy right now and reduce climate change for decades to come.”
The Azalea project contracts 60 MW of solar and 38 MW/152 MWh of energy storage capacity from Idemitsu Renewables (formerly Solar Frontier Americas) in Kern County. The project has a 15-year contract and will create approximately 474 construction jobs. It will come online December 2022.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with CPA on this innovative solar + storage solution that brings low cost electricity to their customers during optimal demand periods,” said Cary Vandenberg, Managing Director, Idemitsu Renewables. “We have a strong track record of building and financing projects with CCAs and are proud to add the largest one, CPA, to our growing portfolio of these partners.”
Of the other projects approved in May, the High Desert project contracts 100 MW of solar and 50 MW/200 MWh of storage capacity from Middle River Power in San Bernardino County. The project has a 15-year contract and will create approximately 200 construction jobs. By utilizing a portion of an existing interconnection capacity, the project can come online more quickly and at a lower cost than a traditional greenfield development.
Another project contracts a 100-MW/400-MWh Sanborn standalone storage project from Terra-Gen in Kern County. The project comes online in August 2021, under a 15-year contract, and will create approximately 70 construction jobs.
A final project contracts all of Kaweah River Power Authority’s existing 20.1-MW Kaweah RPS-certified small hydroelectric facility in Tulare County, beginning in June 2020. The project has an approximate output of 36,000 MWh/year and has a 10-year contract.