Solar power for San Diego is the objective of a new agreement between renewable energy developer BayWa r.e, with the San Diego Community Power (SDCP); both companies announced this Thursday they signed a power purchase agreement (PPA).
Firstly, under the agreement SDCP will purchase power for 20 years from the Jacumba Valley Ranch (JVR) Energy Park; which BayWa r.e. is developing near Jacumba Hot Springs in San Diego County.
Secondly, the agreement would create a template for an innovative project which will pair solar photovoltaic power with energy storage solutions; particularly 90 MW of solar power, with 70MW/280 MWh of direct current battery energy storage system.
Thirdly, construction of the project will begin in early 2022; companies expect to create approximately 350 construction jobs; as they will utilize a Project Labor Agreement with local unions.
Moreover, the JVR Energy Park will reach completion and operational status by Q1 2023. Once online, the project will interconnect to the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) transmission grid. The project will power at least 52,000 SDCP customer households annually.
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Solar power and storage for San Diego, first agreement for SDCP
In addition, the clean energy project will also offset more than 500,000 metric tons of carbon emissions; over its lifetime.
Furthermore, about the importance of the agreement, Joe Mosca, chair of the SDCP board, said. “The renewable energy produced and stored at the JVR Energy Park will be an important foundational block of SDCP’s planned power supply portfolio. Working with an experienced renewables developer; such as BayWa r.e. gives us confidence that we will meet our clean energy and climate goals.”
On the other hand, Jam Attari, CEO of BayWa r.e. said. “We’re excited to partner with a forward-looking community choice aggregator; like San Diego Clean Power on this innovative project. JVR Energy Park will be a major step forward in the deployment of storage-integrated utility-scale solar in California; delivering competitively priced clean power as well as resiliency and reliability to the grid.
Finally, the Jacumba agreement represents SDCP’s first solar and storage PPA in San Diego County. As part of the development plan, the project has committed to funding improvements to the local community park as well as the preservation of 435 acres of native habitat.
