Clean electrical energy program, San Mateo County

No more swatting off birds

Built on federal property

 The Mercury News/Aaron Kinney, 10/3/16. "San Mateo County ditches PG&E, starts buying cheaper, greener energy."

....  "As of Saturday (10/8/16), Peninsula Clean Energy provides the power to 20 percent of residential customers in San Mateo County, all municipalities, and all small and medium-size businesses. The remaining 200,000 residential and commercial accounts will come online in April (2017). Customers in San Mateo County will be automatically enrolled in the program but may opt out at any time. 

The switch should be seamless for consumers. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will still deliver the power and process customers’ bills. What’s changing is where the power comes from. The default package, known as ECOplus, consists of energy that includes at least 50 percent renewable sources, such as solar and wind. For a bit more money, customers can choose a 100 percent renewable option, dubbed ECO100. PG&E’s mix is about 30 percent renewable. The rates compare favorably with PG&E’s. For the typical residential consumer, ECOplus would cost $85.88 a month, compared with $88.03 for PG&E, according to Peninsula Clean Energy. ECO100 would be $90.33 per month.

.... If the program works as planned, San Mateo County by next year will already exceed a statewide mandate for 50 percent renewable energy sources by 2030. .... The Bay Area is leading the charge, with Marin, Napa and San Francisco counties and a handful of cities having already set up community-choice energy programs. Silicon Valley Clean Energy, serving most of Santa Clara County, is scheduled to launch the first phase of its program in April. San Jose is considering its own community-choice energy initiative, which the City Council is slated to consider in December.  As an early adopter of Peninsula Clean Energy, Menlo Park resident Nicole Kemeny said she has already chosen to upgrade to the 100 percent renewable package. The extra cost, she said, was well worth it."  Read more.

Ugly, but not in our back yard

Green field open space, hum

Reference, County joint powers provider.  Peninsula Clean Energy/About.  ... "As a PCE customer, you’ll have a choice in the amount of electricity that comes from renewables with our two different product options. You can choose our default option, ECOplus, with lower rates and nearly double the percentage of renewable energy as your current service. If you can afford to pay a little extra and want to help even more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, you can choose our ECO100. When you choose 100% renewable energy, you’re leading the charge for a more sustainable future for San Mateo County."  Peninsula Clean Energy/Frequently Asked Questions.  Example. Where does Peninsula Clean Energy get is electricity? "Our energy is produced from non-polluting, renewable sources such as solar and wind. The projects that produce our electricity are located in California, Oregon, and Washington State. The exact proportion of each varies with time, based on demand and availability. Peninsula Clean Energy will provide detailed information about our power supply in our annual Power Content Label reporting."

Related, local Cities. Enrollment:  City of San Mateo /Peninsula Clean Energy. "If you received a notice in the mail, then your electricity account will be automatically enrolled in Peninsula Clean Energy this October.  You do not have to do anything to stay in the program.  Your account will be automatically enrolled in PCE's default product - ECOplus, which offers a minimum of 50% renewable energy at lower rates.  Peninsula Clean Energy also offers a 100% renewable energy product called ECO100.  Questions answered:   City of Redwood City/Peninsula Clean Energy Program FAQ. "Peninsula Clean Energy is a community choice energy (CCE) program, also known sometimes as community choice aggregation. CCE programs allow local governments to pool the electricity demands of their communities, purchasing power with higher renewable content, and reinvesting in local infrastructure." Example, .... "If the power goes out, will PG&E still fix a CCE customer’s outage problem?  Yes, PG&E continues to provide the same delivery, line maintenance, and customer services regardless of whether that home or business is part of the CCE program."

Related, County joint powers articles.   The Daily Journal/Bill Silverfarb, 10/7/15,"Clean energy joint venture gains support: San Mateo County joint powers authority formed to buy renewable energy in bulk." "About 297,000 PG&E customers in San Mateo County could get their energy from renewable sources in less than a year under a joint powers authority being formed called Peninsula Clean Energy. The Office of Sustainability has been granted $1.5 million to form the joint venture known as Community Choice Aggregation that is already in place in Marin and Sonoma counties. The county will need at least three of 20 cities to join the JPA to get it off the ground. The hope, however, is that all cities will partner with the county to buy clean energy. The JPA would allow its customers to buy renewable energy at competitive rates. In fact, customers who purchase 100 percent renewable energy from sources such as wind or solar will see their monthly electric bills rise by a modest $2, according to a technical study the Board of Supervisors heard Tuesday." Related, County towns with 100% renewable electricity, article. The Almanac/Barbara Wood, 9/30/16, "Local towns sign up for 100 percent renewable energy." "Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside and Portola Valley, along with several other San Mateo County municipalities, have signed up as customers of the new Peninsula Clean Energy program to buy municipal electricity that is 100 percent from renewable sources. Atherton's City Council voted for the 100 percent renewable option, called Eco100, at its Sept. 21 meeting. In addition to the other local towns, Brisbane, Foster City, Millbrae and Redwood City have signed up for that option, according to Atherton City Council member Rick DeGolia, who is the town's representative to Peninsula Clean Energy." 

Note not San Mateo County photographs.  Wind. Cows by Charlie Riedel/AP from Transcend Media Service/The Washington Post/Joby Warrick, 1/4/16, "Wind, Solar Power soaring in spite of bargain prices for fossil fuels." Wind turbine from Wind Energy and Electric Vehicle Review/Reve, 1/22/16, "Governors' coalition teams up wind energy and solar power to advance renewable energy across U.S."  Solar. Solar field/Neillis Air Force Base/Nevada from from Wikipedia, "Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert."  Green solar field image from METKA S.A. International Engineering.. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh