Purchased from International Turbine Research in 2018, Scout returned the wind farm in Pacheco State Park to operation and will rename the project the Gonzaga Ridge Wind Farm.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Peninsula Clean Energy and the opportunity to continue to supply clean, renewable power to the customers of San Mateo County and Los Banos in Merced County while we complete our upgrade plans to the Gonzaga Ridge Wind facility,” said Michael Rucker, CEO, and founder of Scout Clean Energy. “In addition, we will continue to generate royalty revenues for the California Department of Parks and Recreation to help fund the operations of the park.”

The project will replace the existing 162-turbine wind farm in Pacheco State Park, originally built nearly four decades ago, with a much-smaller fleet of far more powerful state-of-the-art turbines that are expected to be operational by around the end of October 2024.

While the existing 162 turbines produce 16.5 MW, Scout is planning a total Gonzaga Ridge capacity of 147.5 MW of wind energy and a 50-MW, four-hour battery energy storage system. The completed project upgrades would be one of the first repower projects on state land in California.

Construction, which will begin in late 2023, has a labor agreement between contractors and national unions.

“The Gonzaga Ridge project is an important tool in Peninsula Clean Energy’s efforts to provide 24/7 renewable power, with the added bonus of being located near our new Los Banos service territory,” said Jan Pepper, Peninsula Clean Energy’s CEO . “It is also a great example of how state-of-the-art wind farms have become far more efficient and powerful in providing clean and affordable energy across our territories during both peak and non-peak hours.”

Gonzaga Ridge will be located about 10 miles from the 200-MW Wright Solar Project, which in January 2020 became the largest renewable energy installation at the time ever built for a Community Choice Aggregation agency. Wright Solar was Peninsula Clean Energy’s first project located in Merced County and California’s Central Valley.

“Not only is this the second big renewable development right in our backyard, but it also smartly taps into the tremendous wind power available at Pacheco Park particularly at night and in spring,” said Los Banos Mayor Tom Faria. “This helps further diversify the natural, clean and affordable power that Merced County can increasingly produce directly for our residents.”

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“In order to hit our 100% renewable goal we will need some significant contributions from wind energy,” said Jan Pepper, CEO of Peninsula Clean Energy. “We are particularly gratified to have longer-term commitments in a highly competitive market for wind energy projects that will help us further push the envelope in giving our customers clean and affordable power.”

The three contracts Peninsula Clean Energy has signed:

• Shiloh I: A seven-year extension, through 2030, of an existing 150-MW wind project in Solano County with Avangrid Renewables. The current five-year term ends in December 2023.
• Voyager II: Eight years, through 2028, with Shell Energy North America (U.S.), for half of the capacity and renewable energy generated by the existing approximately 130-MW wind project near Mojave.
• Sky River: Half of the expected 60 MW generated for 20 years from this project being repowered by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources near Bakersfield in Kern County. The project, which will repower an existing facility by replacing 157 existing turbines with 11 new turbines for Peninsula Clean Energy’s portion, is expected to be operational by September 2021.

The additional wind generation will bring Peninsula Clean Energy closer to meeting its goal of providing renewable-only generation by 2025. It will supplement solar generation — including supply from the newly commissioned 200-MW Wright Solar and 100-MW Mustang Two Whirlaway projects — when solar production wanes.

“We are pleased to work with Peninsula Clean Energy to bring additional low-cost, renewable energy to its customers and economic growth to California,” said Matt Handel, senior vice president of development for NextEra Energy Resources. “Once construction on this upgrade is completed, our project partners will enjoy an improved wind project that is more efficient and produces cost-effective energy.”

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