A Success Story
March 13, 2019
So, because we have been bombarded with doom and gloom news lately, I have decided to focus on some good news in my Council Corner this week. As Councilmembers, we not only make policy for the City, but we also represent the City’s interests on a regional level. One of the Boards on which I serve in my capacity as a Foster City Councilmember is the Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) Board. You may have heard me talk about PCE’s efforts in my closing comments during the City Council meetings. However, you may not know that each meeting requires hours of preparation time for everyone involved. Our Board members and the staff are very dedicated.
Here’s some background on PCE. PCE is a local public agency launched in 2016 as a community choice energy (CCE) program. A CCE is a locally-controlled community organization that enables local residents and businesses to have a choice regarding the sources of their energy. PCE purchases renewable electricity, such as geothermal, solar, and wind, which leads to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. After a comprehensive feasibility study was completed and reviewed, elected officials from each member jurisdiction unanimously agreed to form this agency for the benefit of San Mateo County. Our Board is made up of one representative Councilmember from each of the 20 cities in San Mateo County and two County representatives, Board Supervisors Dave Pine and Carole Groom.
As a CCE, PCE offers many environmental and economic benefits to the residents and businesses of San Mateo County. PCE has dramatically reduced San Mateo County’s GHG emissions from electricity by more than 50% in just one year. One of our goals is to provide power that is sourced with 100% GHG free by 2021. In October of last year, PCE celebrated the beginning of the construction of a 200-Megawatt solar facility in Los Banos that will help advance one of our goals of providing all customers with 100% renewable power by 2025 through an exclusive 25-year power purchase agreement with the owner of the facility for procurement of the solar power from this facility. Additionally, this facility is being constructed with union labor hired from the surrounding areas and will produce enough electricity to power more than 100,000 San Mateo County homes a year.
As a benefit to all of PCE’s customers, we reinvest some of the earnings into the community in the form of new energy projects and programs leading to further GHG emission reductions and customer savings. As Board Members, we participate in the discussion of and decision making on the implementation of energy programs to further reduce GHG emissions, such as incentivizing the use of electric vehicles (EVs) through EV test drive events throughout the County and incentives for used plug-in EVs for low- and moderate-income level residents. These are just a couple of the programs that PCE has implemented to reduce GHG emissions, support low-income customers, and advance electric transportation. Soon, PCE will be involved in providing incentives for installing EV chargers in apartment buildings and workplaces.
In addition to that, remaining on the forefront and a great supporter of a sustainable future for San Mateo County is Foster City. Foster City was one of the very first cities in San Mateo County to “opt-up” all municipal buildings to 100% renewable energy/100% carbon-free (ECO100) back in 2016.
My experience on this Board as a representative for Foster City has been very rewarding and many positive results have come out of PCE programs. We are helping to improve our environment and providing residents with benefits that not only include a better environment, but also provide electricity at a lower cost as well as incentives to increase the awareness of the benefits of renewable energy. Overall, PCE has been very successful, and I look forward to continuing my participation on this Board in the years ahead.
If you would like more information on PCE or on any other topic, you can reach me at cmahanpour@fostercity.org. I look forward to a conversation with you.
