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| San Diego is just 90 miles from one of the largest geothermal energy resources in the world at the Salton Sea. |
San Diego is going into the utility business. The city plans to tap solar arrays, land-based wind farms and geothermal power to meet its goals.
After a long and often contentious debate, Mayor Kevin Faulconer is set to announce on Thursday that the city will create an alternative to the area’s investor-owned utility, San Diego Gas and Electric Company. The city says the government-run program will increase competition, lower electricity rates by as much as 5 percent and ensure that the city reaches its goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035, 10 years ahead of the state’s mandate.
The move makes San Diego the largest city in the state to embrace a program in which residents essentially band together to buy power in bulk. More than 160 cities, towns and counties in California currently take part in similar programs, which began two decades ago in Cape Cod and spread to other locations in Massachusetts, New York and Illinois.
San Diego’s program is expected to be in place by 2022, and utility customers will be automatically enrolled in it, though they can also choose to stay with SDG & E.
San Diego’s coastal winds aren’t suitable for offshore turbines, but the city plans to tap solar arrays, land-based wind farms and geothermal power to meet its goals.
