Clearway Energy Group (Clearway) has announced that its Victory Pass project, a 200 MW solar and 200 MWh storage site under development on BLM land in Riverside County, California, US, is fully contracted with two investment-grade rated community choice aggregators, Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority (SVCE) and Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE).
“Solar and storage energy projects such as Victory Pass are central to California’s transition to 100% carbon-free electricity,” said Valerie Wooley, Vice President of Origination at Clearway. “We’re honoured to partner with SVCE and CCCE on these projects to move toward the Golden State’s renewable energy goals and support the role of community choice aggregators in providing California residents and businesses with clean, reliable, and affordable power. We thank our customers and many other partners who are making the clean energy transition possible.”
“The Victory Pass project not only provides solar energy capacity but carries great value with the four hour discharge battery pairing. As California summers continue to bring extreme heat and high electricity demand, the ability to discharge energy during peak hours is critical as we transition to a clean grid,” said Girish Balachandran, SVCE’s Chief Executive Officer.
SVCE provides clean electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources to more than 270 000 residential and commercial customers in 13 Santa Clara County jurisdictions. It is advancing innovative solutions to fight climate change by decarbonising the grid, transportation and buildings. SVCE signed a 15-year contract for 100 MW of solar capacity and 25 MW of battery storage capacity from the Victory Pass project.
“This long-term solar plus storage contract with Clearway in partnership with SVCE marks another step forward for Central Coast Community Energy’s pathway to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030,” said CCCE’s Chief Executive Officer, Tom Habashi. “The Victory Pass project also marks important progress for the State of California and the collective effort by CCAs, our customers, and business partners to stabilise the Western Grid and support the growth of reliable clean energy resources on behalf of the communities we serve.”
CCCE procures clean and renewable energy on behalf of 400 000 residential and commercial customers throughout 33 Central Coast communities. In addition to renewable and storage projects, it accelerates the electrification of transportation, building and agricultural equipment while strengthening energy resiliency. CCCE signed a 15-year contract for 100 MW of solar capacity and 25 MW of battery storage capacity from the Victory Pass project.
Victory Pass is part of a larger solar and storage complex in Riverside County along with Clearway’s Arica project. Once complete, the full renewable energy complex will generate enough clean electricity to power approximately 132 000 homes and represents an investment of US$689 million, including US$5.9 million in local economic benefits during operations. More than 1000 jobs will be created during construction and once operating, the larger solar and storage complex will employ several full-time positions.
Clearway is one of the largest renewable energy companies in the state with approximately 1700 MW of operating renewable energy facilities, which are owned by its public affiliate. Victory Pass will expand Clearway’s footprint in Riverside County, where the company owns and operates 180 MW of solar capacity.
Construction of the project is scheduled to begin in 2022.
