By Mark Edward Nero
Port of Oakland Commissioners have approved an $8.9 million deal to purchase solar power for the next 20 years. The port said its municipal utility will resell the electricity to tenants, including those at both the seaport and Oakland airport.
Under the agreement, which was approved March 23, the port plans to buy about 11,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually from a planned expansion of a solar farm located in Lancaster, Calif., about 90 minutes northeast of Los Angeles.
The solar farm expansion is expected to come online in December 2020, according to the port.
Oakland said it will pay $39 per megawatt hour for the solar-generated electricity.
The megawatt hours, according to the port, represent about 35 percent of the renewable energy that Oakland needs by 2030 to meet California renewable portfolio standards requirements under state law.
The Port of Oakland operates its own electrical utility; the utility buys electricity and resells it to tenants at the seaport as well as at Oakland International Airport, which is operated by the port.
