Anaheim Taps Into Renewable Resource Generation From California’s Largest Wind Plant
The City of Anaheim on September 1st began taking wind-generated electrical energy from the state’s largest wind plant, the
High Winds Energy Center, in Solano County. Anaheim Public Utilities’ participation in the High Winds Project will add 6 megawatts of
renewable resource capacity to its power portfolio.
“The purchase of this energy will assist Anaheim Public Utilities in meeting our proposed goal of maintaining a 15% renewable resource
share in our portfolio by the end of 2017,” said Marcie Edwards, Public Utilities General Manager. “By increasing our use of renewable
resources, we will be improving the environment while maintaining a reliable overall energy supply portfolio.”
“Wind power uses no fuel, so it has no fuel costs,” Edwards said. “In that regard, wind energy is a solid, long-term, fixed-price
hedge against fuel price volatility. Furthermore, we anticipate no adverse impact on customer rates due to acquiring these new renewable
energy resources.”
The cities of Anaheim, Azusa, Colton, Glendale and Pasadena are all participants in the High Winds Project. These cities all operate electric
utilities and are members of the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA). Working through SCPPA, the cities jointly negotiated
contracts totaling 30 megawatts, or 20% of the output from the High Winds Energy Center. By working together and pooling resources, SCPPA
member agencies were able to take advantage of economies of scale in purchasing renewable resource generation.
California’s municipal utilities are exempt from the State’s requirement of 20% renewable resources in the portfolios of the investor
owned utilities by 2017. It is encouraging to see that these Munis are making efforts to approach that goal regardless.
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