FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 28, 2019
Press Contact: Kalicia Pivirotto, Marketing Manager
(415) 464-6036 | kpivirotto@mcecleanenergy.org

250 MW New Renewables in 2018 Accelerate MCE’s Rapid Progress

SAN RAFAEL et CONCORD, Calif. — MCE and community partners are leading the way in meeting California’s ambitious renewable energy and climate goals.

The passage of Senate Bill 100 (SB 100) in 2018 advanced California’s existing Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 60 percent by 2030, meaning 60 percent of all electricity must be powered by renewable energy. SB 100 also requires a zero-carbon electricity grid by 2045.

As demonstrated in MCE’s 2019 Plan de ressources intégré (Plan), MCE’s base energy product (Light Green) is projected to be 60 percent renewable starting in 2019, and rise to 70 percent by 2030. This puts MCE 11 years ahead of schedule in meeting SB 100’s 2030 RPS targets. Additionally, MCE’s greenhouse gas (GHG)-free content is projected to be 90 percent in 2019, and 100 percent by 2022, 23 years earlier than the state mandate. MCE’s Deep Green product is already 100% renewable and 100% GHG-free.

Other highlights of MCE’s 2019 Plan include a commitment to supporting the economic health and sustainability of communities in its service area. This includes supplier diversity initiatives, ensuring prevailing wages and use of union labor, and business and workforce initiatives located in low-income and disadvantaged communities, as seen with the award-winning MCE Solar One.

“Our achievements are due to the local leadership of our 33-member communities and the many MCE customers we serve,” said Dawn Weisz, CEO of MCE. “Their choice of Light Green, 60% renewable energy, or Deep Green 100% renewable energy, and their participation in local renewable energy projects are why MCE’s efforts are leading the way in meeting California’s ambitious renewable standards.”

MCE is also expanding programs to maximize the use of renewable energy and reduce GHG emissions while achieving community benefits such as increased workforce opportunities and customer bill savings. Programs include electric vehicle initiatives, energy efficiency offerings, and energy storage projects.

MCE’s 2018 achievements included purchasing nearly 250 MW of new renewable electricity from local and in-state projects built by our partners. These projects came online in 2018, creating over 790,000 labor hours and employing union and prevailing-wage workforces.

As the sole purchaser of the renewable electricity generated by these projects, MCE was instrumental in ensuring they were built. MCE is purchasing power from the following new California renewable projects:

• 100 MW: Great Valley Solar 1, located in Fresno County; 15-year contract with owner ConEdison
• 42 MW: Voyager II wind farm in Mojave; 12-year contract with owner Terra-Gen
• 105 MW: Antelope Expansion II solar farm in Lancaster; 20-year contract with owner sPower

Within MCE’s service area, two new Tarif de rachat d'électricité solar projects came online in 2018 that are now supplying wholesale renewable electricity to MCE:

• 990 kW: Oakley RV & Boat Storage, 20-year contract with owner Hayworth-Fabian LLC
• 56 kW: EO Products in San Rafael; 20-year contract with owner EO Products

MCE’s Deep Green 100 percent California renewable energy service charges a penny per kilowatt-hour premium for pollution-free wind and solar power produced in California. Half of this premium is then used to help fund the build out of local renewable projects like MCE Solar One.

The California Public Utilities Commission acknowledged that Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) like MCE are leading the way in procuring long-term renewable resources: “Overall, the CCAs plan the most long-term new resource purchases to meet their expected load, while ESPs

[Energy Service Providers] and IOUs [Investor Owned Utilities] expect additional short-term market purchases to fill out their portfolios.”

Also noteworthy is that MCE’s Integrated Resource Plan does not include unbundled renewable energy certificates (RECs). For more information on MCE’s power content supply, view the full 2019 Plan ou le 2019 Plan highlights à mceCleanEnergy.org/energy-procurement/.