en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Pastoria Solar Project, a collaboration between the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Calpine, has officially commenced operations. With a capacity of 105 megawatts, this project is the largest renewable energy facility contracted by DWR to date, supporting the goal of achieving full decarbonization for the State Water Project (SWP) by 2035.
The Pastoria Project is located near the Edmonston Pumping Plant, one of California's largest single electrical loads and a key component of the SWP system, which supplies water to approximately 27 million residents and 750,000 acres of farmland. The site integrates solar photovoltaic power generation, an 80 MW / 320 MWh battery energy storage system, and a 750 MW natural gas combined-cycle power plant, providing stable, dispatchable power at a critical grid node.
The battery energy storage system is expected to come online in the spring/summer of 2026, under a 15-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Andrew Novotny, President and CEO of Calpine, stated: "This project is a model of integrated energy planning, combining reliability and decarbonization needs to support California's 2045 clean energy goals." DWR Director Karla Nemeth noted: "Pastoria is a significant step towards achieving carbon neutrality for the SWP while maintaining uninterrupted water supplies."
Labor leaders, such as Chris Hannan of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, emphasized the project's role in creating high-quality union jobs and advancing the clean energy transition. The SWP is already one of California's cleanest electric utilities, and the Pastoria Project will help it achieve its 2035 zero-carbon target while continuing to meet the economic and social needs of the nation's fourth-largest economy.
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