New San José Clean Energy Wind Project Now Powering More Than Half of San José Homes
For Immediate Release
February 24, 2022
Contact
Kate Ziemba, Public Information Manager
San José Clean Energy, City of San José
(408) 535-4889; kate.ziemba@sanjoseca.gov
New San José Clean Energy Wind Project Now Powering More Than Half of San José Homes
225 megawatts of New Mexico wind are helping San José meet its ambitious climate and renewable energy goals
SAN JOSE, Calif. – San José Clean Energy (SJCE)’s first investment in wind energy – 225 megawatts (MW) from Pattern Energy’s Western Spirit Wind facility in New Mexico – began producing energy as of December 31, 2021.
Since launching service in February 2019, SJCE has invested $1 billion in nearly 500 MW of solar, wind, and battery storage. The New Mexico Wind Project augments its investments in solar and battery storage and diversifies its portfolio. Wind complements solar generation and typically delivers power around the clock. The project’s location in New Mexico generally delivers energy earlier each day than local wind projects.
On February 2, 2022, SJCE and developer Terra-Gen announced the completion of an innovative solar and battery storage project that is delivering energy to SJCE customers in a unique format: fixed delivery of 62 MW of renewable energy between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. every day.
Together these projects help SJCE meet customer demand with clean energy during the crucial early evening hours when demand is high, helping reduce reliance on fossil fuels and bolstering reliability.
“These 117 turbines will power 186,000 San José homes each year with clean, pollution-free electricity for the next 15 years,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo. “I’m proud that San José Clean Energy is helping invest in California’s renewable energy future so we can leave a more livable planet to future generations.”
As the City’s Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), SJCE provides electricity generation service for about 350,000 homes and businesses. SJCE offers clean power options at competitive rates. GreenSource, SJCE’s standard service option, is currently sourced at 60% from renewable energy, up from 45% in 2019.
“This wind project provides us with a significant amount of cost-effective renewable energy during more hours of the day and overnight, helping improve rate stability while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing statewide energy reliability goals,” said Lori Mitchell, Director of San José Clean Energy.
SJCE’s wind investment is part of Pattern Energy’s larger Western Spirit Wind power projects, which is the largest single-phase build-out of renewable energy in U.S. history. Pattern Energy also developed and constructed a 155-mile transmission line to connect the project to the California electric grid.
“Pattern Energy is pleased to collaborate with San José Clean Energy and other CCAs on our New Mexico megaproject and bring the benefits of clean, affordable renewable energy to the residents and businesses of San José,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy.
Increasing the amount of renewable and carbon-free energy powering San José is a key component of Climate Smart San José, the City’s climate action plan. In November, the City pledged to reach netzero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
SJCE will play a critical role in reaching this ambitious goal. SJCE has invested in two other projects that will come online by the end of 2022: a 100 MW solar field in Kern County and 100 MW of solar and 10 MW of battery storage in Fresno County.
CCAs like SJCE are a driving force in California’s clean energy future: in total, 21 CCAs have collectively signed 162 long-term PPAs for nearly 10,000 MW of new solar, wind, biogas, geothermal, and energy storage. CCAs are also driving markets for grid reliability solutions like long duration storage. California Community Power, a group of ten CCAs (including SJCE) that have joined to procure large scale clean energy and reliability resources, recently announced a 69 MW investment in long-duration storage. Yesterday, Pattern Energy celebrated the dedication of the Western Spirit project with New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich.
About the City of San José
With more than one million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States and is Northern California’s largest city and the 10th largest city in the nation. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world. In 2011, the City adopted Envision San José 2040, a long-term growth plan that sets forth a vision and a comprehensive road map to guide the City’s anticipated growth through the year 2040.
About San José Clean Energy
San José Clean Energy (SJCE) is the local, not-for-profit electricity generation provider for homes and businesses in the City of San José. SJCE is operated by the City’s Community Energy Department and governed by the City Council. SJCE provides 350,000 customer accounts with cleaner energy at competitive rates plus the additional benefits of customer choice, community programs, local control, transparency, and accountability. For more information, please visit www.SanJoseCleanEnergy.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @SJCleanEnergy.
About Pattern Energy
Pattern Energy is one of the world’s largest privately-owned developers and operators of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage projects. Its operational portfolio includes 35 renewable energy facilities that use proven, best-in-class technology with an operating capacity of more than 5,900 MW in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Pattern Energy is guided by a long term commitment to serve customers, protect the environment, and strengthen communities. For more information, visit www.patternenergy.com.