The Glendale City Council has approved power sales agreements (PSA’s) with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) to purchase geothermal energy.
Under the agreements, Glendale Water & Power (GWP) will purchase geothermal energy from Whitegrass No.1 Geothermal and Star Peak Geothermal located in Nevada.
The Whitegrass No.1 Geothermal project is scheduled to commence on April 2020, while the Star Peak Geothermal project will begin operations in April 2021. Both the projects are under the management of Open Mountain Energy.
The two projects will jointly provide 15.5MW of renewable energy to Glendale and GWP customers and will allow Glendale to move forward to meet California’s mandates of Senate Bill (SB) 100.
The geothermal projects to increase GWP’s renewable portfolio standard by 11%
GWP General Manager Steve Zurn said: “We are reducing our use of fossil fuels and bringing environmentally sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy alternatives to our customers.”
GWP said that the power generated by both the projects will be equivalent to approximately 11% increase in its renewable portfolio standard.
The zero-carbon renewable energy supplied to the customers is expected to reduce 52,600 metric tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian said: “This agreement marks another successful milestone in Glendale’s path towards its clean energy goals while maintaining a reliable power supply for Glendale.
“Instead of only generating power when the sun is shining or when the wind is blowing, a geothermal project produces energy continuously, so we can rely on it for power around the clock; a partnership and achievement we are very proud of.”
In July last year, GWP received approval from the City Council to go ahead with its plan to repower the aging Grayson Power Plant by adding a combination of renewable energy resources.
