The City Council for Pasadena, Calif., recently approved plans for two new energy contracts: a 10-year wind power contract with CalWind Resources and a battery energy storage system at the Glenarm Power Plant.
“These efforts will diversify Pasadena Water and Power’s energy resource portfolio and contribute to the city’s progress toward 100 percent carbon-free energy sources by the end of 2030,” the public power utility noted.
The CalWind contract will provide 20 megawatts of wind power over 10 years. The project will draw from a 30 MW facility, in Tehachapi, Calif., which is currently undergoing a repowering to modernize the existing wind turbine fleet.
Pasadena currently holds a short-term CalWind contract and will begin receiving power from the new, 10-year agreement in May 2025.
“This wind energy agreement is another significant step toward achieving our clean energy goals,” said David Reyes, PWP Acting General Manager. “We are excited to expand our carbon-free resource portfolio and are committed to ensuring our customers enjoy the benefits of a clean energy future.”
The recently approved BESS project at Pasadena’s Glenarm Power Plant will be the first, local utility-scale battery storage system in the city.
The project will provide 25 MW of dispatchable storage capacity up to four hours at a time from Glenarm BESS, a special purpose entity created by EPC Energy Inc. The battery is anticipated to have a 15-year minimum lifespan.
To help offset the battery and installation costs, PWP secured a $9.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission through the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program.
PWP expects the BESS project to be completed and operational by 2027.
