Town of Apple Valley, City of Lancaster and City of Rancho Mirage to Benefit from Local Energy Supply
Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., and the California Choice Energy Authority (CalChoice) announced today three new power purchase agreements for wind energy from Avangrid Renewables’ Mountain View III Wind Farm in Palm Springs. CalChoice will purchase the entire output of the 22.44-megawatt (MW) wind farm starting in 2021 on behalf of three of its members: Apple Valley Choice Energy (AVCE), Lancaster Choice Energy (LCE) and the Rancho Mirage Energy Authority (RMEA).
The power purchase agreements will enable these three locally operated electric service providers to offer their customers clean, renewable energy generated in one of the most wind-rich areas of California. The project location is well-suited for CalChoice’s membership, as it sits adjacent to RMEA’s service territory and relatively close to the LCE and AVCE customer bases. The Mountain View III Wind Farm output will allow these CalChoice members to continue offering voluntary service options that provide customers with the opportunity to purchase up to 100% renewable energy from local and regional generating resources, and will facilitate compliance with California’s renewable energy policy.
“Helping communities in Southern California deliver locally generated clean energy is an inspiring market development that CalChoice has helped enable,” said Diana Scholtes, Vice President of Renewable Origination and Strategies for Avangrid Renewables. “Our diverse asset fleet, paired with Community Choice Aggregation programs, permits us to offer flexible, customer-driven products to cities and counties seeking competitive, clean energy solutions.”
“CalChoice is excited to partner with Avangrid Renewables in purchasing locally produced wind energy,” noted CalChoice Executive Director Jason Caudle. “We are committed to pursuing clean, locally situated energy supply options for our members, and the Mountain View III Wind Farm was a perfect fit in this regard. We look forward to working with Avangrid Renewables during the upcoming 10-year delivery period.”
The Mountain View III Wind Farm generates approximately 70,000 megawatt hours per year, enough to power more than 8,000 typical California homes annually. That amount of carbon-free energy delivered to customers is the approximate equivalent of 78 million avoided vehicle miles per year.
About CalChoice
CalChoice offers support for local governments in every phase of the CCA program implementation process, providing feasibility services to determine whether a CCA program is appropriate, developing implementation plans for members to submit to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and managing the implementation process to launch the CCA program, as well as continuing to support members once their CCA program becomes operational. Current partner communities include the Town of Apple Valley and the cities of Baldwin Park, Commerce, Hanford, Lancaster, Palmdale, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Mirage and San Jacinto. To learn more about partnering opportunities with CalChoice, please visit www.CaliforniaChoiceEnergyAuthority.com.