Opportunities to develop new energy projects in Southern California—whether conventional generation, renewable resource, demand response, or energy storage—became clearer last week as the result of an order issued by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

On March 13, the CPUC authorized the long-term procurement plans of Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) to procure up to 1,500 MWs in new energy supplies, as part of a process to replace 2,200 MWs the mothballed San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS) would have supplied. At least 600 MWs must be from California's "preferred resources"—renewable power, demand response resources and energy efficiency.

The CPUC added, as "Track 4", 1,500 MW to the procurement authorization authorized in "Track 1" of the proceeding, which dealt with the overall long-term need for new local reliability resources to meet long-term local capacity requirements (LCRs) through 2022. The long-term LCRs are expected to result from the retirement of approximately 5,900 MWs from current once-through cooling generators in the Los Angeles (LA) Basin, and approximately 900 MW in the San Diego local area, to comply with State Water Quality Control Board regulations. The March 13 order is a follow-up to the Track 1 decision, but is more narrowly focused on local capacity requirements in the SONGS study area.

Download this pdf to learn more: New Energy Project Opportunities in Southern California Now Clearer

This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.