Our growing movement is making a tremendous impact.
A flock of owls is called a “parliament.” A herd of lions is a “pride.” So what do you call a group of not-for-profit power agencies? A movement!
Two decades ago, Californians who wanted to speed up the transition to clean energy started the Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) movement. CCAs are not-for-profit agencies that purchase clean electricity directly from renewable energy producers on behalf of their local community. When VCE began providing service, we also joined forces with other CCAs through an organization called CalCCA. Their most recent count of more than 300 clean energy projects CCAs are funding across the state demonstrates just how effective CCAs have been in mobilizing support for clean, efficient resources for our communities.
Leading California’s Clean Energy Transformation
Together, VCE and California’s other 24 CCAs represent 14 million customers — that’s almost 40% of the state’s population. And we’re harnessing our buying power to play a critical role in this clean-energy transition. By 2045, California plans to supply 100% of the state’s power from energy sources that don’t burn fossil fuels or release carbon into the atmosphere. Thanks to the hard work of many many people and organizations, we’re well on our way! According to the California Energy Commission, 61% of the state’s electricity now comes from fossil-free sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, and batteries.
CalCCA’s member agencies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fund new clean energy projects. According to CalCCA, that investment has added 14,000 megawatts (MW) of fossil-free electricity to the power grid, including:
- 7,004 MW from solar farms, enough to power 1.15 million households
- 1,526 MW from new wind turbines, powering 606,000 households
- 325 MW from new geothermal plants
- 25 MW from new biogas plants
CCAs have also funded 5,014 MW worth of new battery storage — half of California’s total capacity! Batteries play a critical role because they store energy from solar and wind during times when these plants produce more electricity than we can use. This stored clean energy is then available when homes and businesses need it during periods when we have fewer renewable resources available or during times of very high energy use during periods like heat waves.
Not-for-profit CCAs like VCE support clean energy in other ways. We re-invest our earnings back into our communities by:
- Offering incentives to help customers electrify their homes and vehicles
- Customer bill credits-returning dividends to customers, helping them save money
- Installing EV charging stations in our communities
VCE’s role in this statewide movement
VCE displays the CalCCA badge on our About Us page because we’re proud to work alongside the 24 other agencies in our movement to transition California to clean energy.
Since 2018, we’ve used the joint purchasing power of VCE’s customers to fund new projects that supply Davis, Winters, Woodland, and unincorporated Yolo County with 378 MW worth of additional fossil-free power. We’re putting steel in the ground and helping to create good jobs. We’ve also reinvested over $8 million into community programs and rate relief credits for our customers.
Close to two-thirds of the electricity VCE supplies to our community now comes from clean energy sources — and we’re committed to 100% by 2030. That’s 15 years ahead of the state’s goal! Thank you to all our customers for supporting this movement. Together, we’re preparing California for our clean energy future.
Photo caption: Putah Creek Solar Farm, Winters, CA
Source for these calculations: Lewis & Clark Law School
Source for calculations: California Wind Energy Association