California CCAs Receive 15 MW of Solar Energy from Renewable America

by | May 2, 2023

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Renewable America Provides CCAs Solar Energy, Storage

(Credit: Renewable America)

Four community choice aggregators in California are receiving more than 15 megawatts of solar energy along with 8-megawatt hours of energy storage from Renewable America.

The five total projects will be complete by the end of 2023 or early 2024 and will provide communities in northern California with locally produced renewable energy along with energy resiliency, nearly half of which will be located in disadvantaged areas. The projects will help the community choice aggregators (CCAs) meet their state-mandated resource adequacy program requirements.

CCAs are programs that allow local governments to procure power for businesses, residents, and municipalities from an alternative supplier while still receiving services from an existing utility provider, according to the EPA. California is one of 10 states that have authorized CCAs and in 2020 nearly 13 billion kilowatt hours of electricity was procured through CCAs.

A resource adequacy program is a regulatory measure to make sure energy load-serving entities have enough power contracted to meet peak demand. The California Public Utilities Commission requires CCAs to file reports to show they have procured a certain percentage of energy capacity.

California has faced unprecedented power demand in recent years, especially from natural events such as forest fires and extreme heat. In September 2022 the state faced several heat emergencies that required significant cutbacks on energy sources and strained the power grid.

Those impacts on the power supply are among the reasons the state has significant energy regulations in place. Last year California passed $54 billion in funding for additional clean energy and climate initiatives.

Renewable America said the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) generally requires that cluster studies are done to make sure system reliability and standards that produce no adverse impacts are met. The company said that it has taken on more developmental risk to bypass the studies for connecting to CAISO and providing a platform for the limitation in the capacity market.

The five projects will be managed by Renewable America. Those efforts include securing new project sites, interconnection, engineering, permitting, and power purchase agreements. Two of the projects will be located in disadvantaged communities to provide equitable access to clean energy, the company said.

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