MONDAY NEWS CODEX: AES Withdrawal; SB 913; Community Solar PD
4 New EV Fast Chargers Running on Solar Power Launched in California: "The four charging ports are CCS, and there are six more fast chargers planned for this summer which will have NACS ports. The charging station has 1,080 solar panels to generate clean, renewable electricity and battery storage to store excess electricity to provide charges at night." CLEAN TECHNICA
AES Pulls Out of San Diego Area Battery Project After Local Opposition: "Independent power producer AES Corp.withdrew its application to develop the Seguro battery system in Escondido, 30 miles from San Diego. The company had intended to fill a former horse ranch with 320 megawatts of battery containers, which would have been one of the most powerful stand-alone energy storage facilities in the country. The facility would have strengthened the Southern California grid late in the day, when solar generation fades and home consumption surges, pushing the state forward on its quest to produce 100% clean electricity by 2045." CANARY MEDIA
As EV Load Grows, Utilities Use Managed Charging to Harness Flexibility, Lower Costs: "The California Public Advocates Office reported in 2025 that EV charging management had a 'significant' impact on costs for all three investor-owned utilities in the state, and 'mass shifting of peak EV load away from the peak could save between $5 billion and $18 billion in distribution costs by 2040.'" UTILITY DIVE
Batteries Buying "Free" California Solar, Driving Up Price: "Aurora Energy Research has found that energy storage is raising the value of negatively priced solar electricity by up to $42 per MWh in the CAISO wholesale market." PV MAGAZINE
California Advances SB 913 to Open Grid Market to Batteries: "SB 913, the Clean Local Power Act, advanced out of committee and now heads to the Senate floor. The bill, introduced by Senator Josh Becker of Menlo Park, requires the California Public Utilities Commission to build permanent market pathways for aggregated distributed energy resources to qualify as resource adequacy capacity. The CPUC would have until June 30, 2027 to finalize the rules." ENERGY STORAGE WIRE
California Bill Would Limit EV-Charging Access in Affordable Housing: "Legislation backed by developers would waive EV-charging requirements for new low-income housing projects, just as the state looks to build 1 million more units." CANARY MEDIA
California Energy Commission Says Solar Project in Twentynine Palms May Proceed Despite Council Vote: "There was a narrow victory for opponents of a proposed solar farm at the March 23 Twentynine Palms City Council meeting when council voted to uphold the 2012 moratorium against such developments. In a letter... Jared Babula, attorney for the California Energy Commission, informed Robert Smith, attorney with K&L Gates LLP representing solar developer, E-Group, of its own power to supersede council rulings." Z107.7FM
California Proposed Decision on Community Solar "Virtually Ensures No Projects Will be Built": "The [proposed] decision maintains the commission’s focus on avoiding 'cost-shifting' to non-participating ratepayers, a position heavily supported by investor-owned utilities like PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E." PV MAGAZINE
Floating Offshore4 Wind – a Financial and Environmental Catastrophe: "Altogether, the total project cost for California’s planned offshore wind developments is $248 billion, or not quite $10 billion per gigawatt of capacity. The financing cost for this sum at 4 percent interest and a 20 year term is $18.3 billion per year. If we assume a 40 percent yield for these intermittent sources of energy (that’s optimistic, when onshore wind farm yields are closer to 25 percent), the completed project will produce 10 gigawatts of baseload power, which is equal to 87,600 gigawatt-hours per year. That is 87.6 billion kilowatt-hours, generated at an annual project financing cost of $18.3 billion, and that’s equal to $0.21 per kilowatt-hour. This is a best case wholesale price, before construction cost overruns, ongoing costs for operations and maintenance, and retail markups (adding about $0.20/kWh) to cover distribution, utility overhead, and regulatory charges." CALIFORNIA GLOBE
Levelized Cost of Energy Models are Junk: "[Lazard's] calculations show that for California, unsubsidised solar costs $51/MWh, unsubsidised solar plus some storage costs $77/MWh. However, the storage is not enough to give proper firm capacity, so the cost of solar (or solar plus storage) rises to $142/MWh when the costs of capacity payments to a firming resource are considered. The $142/MWh is above the $48-109/MWh range for a combined cycle gas turbine. However, this too flatters the cost of 'firm' renewables because the high-end cost of gas reflects a load factor of just 30%. The need to run gas turbines on such low load factors only arises because of renewables." EIGEN VALUES
NRC Approves Diablo Canyon License Extension to 2045, Shifting Decision to California Legislature: "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a 20-year operating license renewal for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, authorizing operations for the two units until the mid-2040s. State law, however, currently limits operations to 2029 and 2030 unless the state legislature authorizes a further extension. The federal approval allows Unit 1 to operate until November 2, 2044 and Unit 2 to operate until August 26, 2045. The approval completes the federal licensing process initiated under 2022 legislation to extend operations beyond planned retirement dates. Currently, Unit 1 is authorized to stay open until 2029 and Unit 2 is authorized to stay open until 2030." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
Oil Pipeline Reopens, Boosting California's Energy Supply: "The Santa Ynez Pipeline's reopening has sparked a political battle, with Governor Gavin Newsom's office and U.S. Rep. Vince Fong on opposite sides. Newsom, a Democrat, has been criticized for his strict environmental rules, which have accelerated refinery closures and boosted reliance on imported oil. In contrast, Fong, whose district includes some of the state's richest oil reserves, has hailed the refinery as a critical step toward lowering fuel costs. The governor has maintained that rising gas prices are due to Trump's war-related actions in Iran, which blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the world's oil supply." NATIONAL TODAY
Show Love for Transmission: "That lack of capacity means California’s grid is becoming congested, and congestion makes electricity more expensive and less reliable. We need a lot more power lines, substations and other infrastructure to ensure clean energy can flow to the places where people are powering more EVs, electric appliances, air conditioners, manufacturing facilities and data centers. Major transmission projects regularly take 10 years or more to complete, and California needs dozens more to accommodate the 165 gigawatts of new clean power it’s projected to need by 2045 to meet rising demand and the state’s clean energy goals. And they need to be built affordably." THE CURRENT
Terra-Gen to Pay $5.6M to Settle CAISO Market Manipulation Charges: "Terra-Gen also violated FERC’s 'duty of candor' rule in a compliance report to the agency related to an earlier settlement agreement. The report failed to disclose that CAISO’s market monitor had new concerns about the company’s market behavior, according to FERC." UTILITY DIVE
Trump's Energy Chief Attacks California Oil and Gas Policies in Long Beach: "Last year, Long Beach celebrated a deal Synergy Oil & Gas negotiated with a regional wetlands authority in Southern California. A former oil field, 154 acres of land in the city of Long Beach would become public wetlands; the company would gain a more valuable property and environmental credits. But a state law meant to keep wells away from homes and schools thwarted the company’s plan for more drilling – and now the wetlands deal has become fodder for the Trump administration’s war against California Democratic energy policies. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to the property, owned by Synergy Oil & Gas, on Wednesday with a message to Gov. Gavin Newsom: state policies are increasing costs for Californians, and the Trump administration will be challenging them." CAL MATTERS
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