California firm contracts ‘astoundingly’ cheap solar-plus-storage pipeline

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Image credit: Jesse Richmond / Flickr

The US state of California has witnessed yet another claim of ultra-low solar prices, recorded in the context of a major contracting exercise by a community energy group.

The board of East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), the power supplier of San Francisco-neighbouring Alameda County, waved through deals last Friday to acquire 225MW of solar and 80MW / 160MWh of battery energy storage.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The late September procurement – coming off the back of earlier deals in June and July – brings EBCE’s purchase pipeline volumes up to 550MW of clean energy and 137.5MW / 390MWh of energy storage, set to supply residents in Oakland and others in the county.  

According to EBCE, the solar portfolio resulting from this year’s procurement raft was contracted at average prices of US$22/MWh. Commenting on the latest deals on social media, the group’s CEO Nick Chaset described the figure as “astoundingly low”.

One of the newest two deals will see EBCE acquire the entire output of sPower's Solar + Storage Project, set to mix PV (125MW) and batteries (80MW / 160MWh). The buyer will have “full control” to tap the storage battery as required by the peaks and troughs of solar generation.

The second deal concerns the 100MW Edwards Solar Project Terra-Gen is developing within a 600MW complex at the Edwards Airforce Base, in Kern County. According to EBCE, the agreement foresees the possibility of rolling out energy storage systems onsite.

Edwards’ “solar plus virtual storage” contract means Terra-Gen can install and run batteries to protect the project from negative pricing, EBCE said, adding: “[We have] the right to procure resource adequacy in the event storage is added.”

Cheap solar draws eyes to Golden State

For EBCE, the sPower and Terra-Gen projects cleared in September will sit alongside schemes – including EDPR’s 100MW / 30MW solar-plus-storage venture in Fresno – it gave the green-light to earlier this year all across California.

The contracts will see PV developers back EBCE’s community investment scheme with contributions of US$1 million, with a commitment to use union-backed labour and sponsor training hours for volunteers and others.

The EBCE deals look set to cement California’s status as home to some of the cheapest solar ventures in the US. A solar-plus-storage project claiming to offer the country’s lowest solar tariffs – US$19.97/MWh – has cleared various planning hurdles in Los Angeles.

Designed with a total 400MW of solar arrays and up to 1,200MWh in battery systems, 8minute Solar Energy's Eland hybrid bagged earlier in September 25-year power purchase agreements from the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

However, some in the solar ranks have questioned whether ultra-cheap Eland can remain money-making for 8minute. Writing for PV Tech in August, Gensol Group vice president Ali Imran Naqvi said his firm's modelling would see the developer reap equity returns of only 5%.

LA authorities recently moved to triple the size of the city's rooftop solar feed-in tariff programme, in a bid to build momentum towards clean energy goals. Under current targets, LADWP’s current renewable share of 31% should grow to 55% by 2025, 80% by 2036 and 100% by 2045.

US solar prospects amid PPA uptake and a changing policy landscape will take centre stage at Solar Media's Solar & Storage Finance USA in New York on 29-30 October 2019

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

September 5, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker has launched a new electrical balance of systems (eBOS) trunk connector.
September 5, 2025
Scientists from Germany and Saudi Arabia have discovered that perovskite thin-film cells are compatible with current industry standard silicon solar cells, which they claim is a “crucial step toward the industrialisation of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells”.
September 5, 2025
During a week of major US clean energy developments, ContourGlobal, PSE, Arevon, and Ameren Missouri advanced solar projects across four states in the US.
September 5, 2025
Newly formed firm Solaris Assets has acquired the business operations and assets of Texas-based residential solar installer Sunnova.
September 5, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies has announced that two of its tracking systems are compatible with 2,000V solar systems.
September 5, 2025
Research firm Rystad Energy has found that Queensland’s utility-scale solar PV power plants have dominated the best-performing assets, in terms of AC capacity factor, rankings for August 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines