Riverside, Calif. – The City of Riverside, a recognized national leader in solar energy, has forged a groundbreaking, 15-year partnership with Camino Solar, LLC to provide renewable, sustainable, storable, affordable energy from a 44 MW photovoltaic facility and an 11MW battery energy storage system.

The Camino Solar plus Battery Energy Storage Project will generate approximately 147,000 Megawatt/hours (MWh) per year of renewable energy. The 11 MW battery installation will enable Riverside to store excess energy that the system produces during the day for use during the evening hours when market prices are higher, thus reducing Riverside’s costs. Energy storage also will help reduce the impacts of overproduction of electricity on the grid.

“This project is great for both ratepayers and the environment,” Mayor Rusty Bailey said. “Our commitment to sustainability in Riverside remains strong.”

The Riverside City Council on Tuesday (12/17) unanimously approved the power purchase agreement with Camino Solar, LLC to begin receiving renewable solar photovoltaic energy, battery energy storage, associated environmental attributes, and capacity rights for a term of 15 years, beginning in May 2022.

The City of Riverside, through its publicly-owned utility, Riverside Public Utilities (RPU), has aggressively met the renewable targets set by the state and is committed to serving its retail energy requirement using more renewable energy.

In order to satisfy the current targets and in anticipation of more stringent requirements in the future, RPU continues to explore additional cost-effective, sustainable, renewable energy procurement opportunities.

“RPU is very pleased to move forward with this new Camino Solar plus Battery Storage Project,” said RPU Power Resources Manager Scott Lesch. “Once online, the generation energy will supply 6% of Riverside’s retail load and allow the City to reach a 50% RPS level.  And the pricing is very attractive, which helps keep the utility’s power supply costs down”.

Since 2012, the RPU Board of Public Utilities and the Riverside City Council have approved more than 230 MW of renewable resource contracts/extensions. Riverside is currently contracted for 86 MW of clean geothermal energy, 46 MW of wind, and over 100 MW of solar.

Per the 2018 Power Content Label, the City currently serves 34% of its power mix with renewable resources and will be on schedule to reach 44% by 2020. Riverside’s partnership with Camino Solar, LLC is a huge step toward its commitment to a low carbon energy future.