The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has established a centralised procurement strategy aimed at increasing the state’s clean energy resources. Under this new framework, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), through its Statewide Energy Office, will be tasked with leading the procurement of certain long lead-time clean energy resources.
By consolidating procurement under one state agency, California aims to streamline the procurement of long lead-time clean energy resources, potentially reducing future costs for ratepayers and accelerating the development of clean energy technologies. The CPUC plans to request that DWR procure up to 10.6 GW of nameplate capacity from emerging technologies. This includes up to 7.6 GW of offshore wind, 1 GW of geothermal energy, 1 GW of multi-day long-duration energy storage, and 1 GW of long-duration energy storage with at least a 12-hour discharge period.
