The Pasadena City Council on Monday, March 26, unanimously approved hiring a consultant to help in the city’s roll out of its plan to source all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by the end of 2030.
The action is important because because the firm will be involved in key studies over how the city will distribute and tap clean energy in the future, as well as assessing the costs.
For projected goals over two years not to exceed $1.2 million, E3 will assist with implementing the city’s strategic plan. Previously, the firm conducted an outside review of the city’s power plan in 2023.
The city hopes to leverage E3’s expertise on the state’s energy resourcing efforts. The firm will be vital in helping Pasadena Water and Power and the council find its way through the ups and downs of the energy market, potential development delays, transmission and infrastructure challenges and changes in energy technologies, according to a city staff report.
The City Council was generally supportive of the contract, as well as its scope of work, which includes a series of studies on how to distribute and store solar energy, demand response and flex loads, how to convert and replace the city’s Glenarm power plant, cost impacts and community input and outreach.
Members of the public were supportive, with the caveat that E3 and the city adhered to goals embraced by Resolution 9977.
Resolution 9977 delcared a climate emergency in the city and directed the city manager to secure the city’s energy from 100% carbon-free sources by 2030. Distribution of that power be equitable and cost-friendly, sustainable and reliable, according to the measure.
While the city’s plan calls for “multiple approaches” to achieve 100% carbon-free sources by 2023, the challenge is to ensure that they are affordable, equitable, stable and reliable.
Sam Berndt, with the group Pasadena 100, reminded the council that Renewable Natural Gas is not carbon-free and should be avoided, because a carbon-free future is vital to “addressing the existential threat of our time.”
David Reyes, the city’s acting general manager of Pasadena Water & Power, said the renewable natural gas option was unlikely to be used. But it needed to be included in the studies at a time of transition.
“We don’t want to preclude any options,” he said. “We don’t know what the future holds yet.”
He likened the RNG option as more of a “stop-gap” option, adding that contracts in the city’s pipeline are with power providers who provide 100% clean energy — announcements he said would be coming soon.
E3 had worked with the city of Sacramento on its 2030 Zero Carbon Plan, helping with its technical analysis. Sacramento’s plan could be a template for Pasadena’s equally ambitious energy goals, city staffers said.
Ultimately, the firm would recommend what it sees as the optimal clean energy plan for the city. As it stands, the firm proposed completing the project in four phases over 12 months, beginning with early studies, impact studies and finally the selection of an Optimized Strategic Plan for achieving the city’s carbon-free goals.
In December, the City Council adopted Pasadena Water and Power’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, governing how the city will meet its energy needs, but it required an updated plan within six months following protests from activists who said the plan doesn’t go far enough in meeting renewable energy goals.
While the plan approved by the council meets all the required climate change goals, it relied on assumptions of significant resource acquisition, capital upgrades, infrastructure improvements and technology advancements that may not pan out. Because of this, it includes “waypoints” in 2026 and 2028 during which PWP and policy makers can review their assumptions and make adjustments, along with a dashboard to track progress.
At the time, the council also directed PWP to return with an “optimized” version of the plan by June 2024, to hire a third-party, green-energy consultant to review the updated plan, and to bring regular updates to the city council and municipal services committee. The council on Monday approved more flexibility in the project’s timeline.
E3 was exempted from the regular competitive bidding process, officials said, because it was in the “best interests” of the city to continue with the firm, citing the costs and time associated with finding and acclimating a new vendor.
Berndt, with Pasadena 100, also pushed for more public accountability in the process, a move that Reyes appeared to agree with. Reyes said “it’s important to have a transparent process,” adding that the city’s Environmental Advisory Commission would get updates on the studies every two months.
“So we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” he said.
