City Administrator Carlos Fandino at Storage Week: "Vernon is Aiming to be the First California Municipality to Achieve 100% Renewable Energy"

VERNON, Calif., Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Vernon's City Administrator Carlos Fandino appeared at the annual StorageWeekPlus, a conference for policymakers, renewable energy and storage developers, and utilities last month, to speak on the city's perspectives around procuring storage for municipalities. Speaking on a panel of utilities and municipalities, Fandino stated that the City of Vernon is well underway to being 100% renewable and is in track to do so before any other city in California.

Formerly the General Manager of the utility, Fandino is working to focus Vernon on not only achieving Senate Bill 100's requirement to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045 but do so much earlier. Due to its industrial load as an industrial epicenter for Southern California, Vernon is uniquely situated as a utility.

Fandino stated at StorageWeekPlus that energy storage, in particular, is a critical component to achieving the 100% renewable energy goal and so the city is exploring options following the end of its current combined cycle generator contract in 2028. Following that term, Vernon will retain a small amount of peaking capacity, but transition primarily to energy storage and renewable energy. Vernon will be taking advantage of recent drops in the prices of renewable energy and energy storage, allowing the City to achieve its goals while maintaining competitive rates and its best in class service.

"More than 1,800 of some of Southern California's most important businesses rely upon Vernon to power their high-demand industrial loads," said Fandino regarding his statements on the StorageWeekPlus panel. "We have a commitment to our businesses and constituents to lead the way in California on SB 100 requirements and to do so in a way that meets and exceeds their power needs and that will not put a financial burden on the City's ratepayers. Vernon will continue to be an economic engine for the Greater Los Angeles area so takes this transition very seriously and will therefore pursue PPAs consistent with our rigorous goals."

State Bill 100, the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2018, mandating that the state be completely emissions-free by 2045.

About The City of Vernon
The City of Vernon is an industrial city of 5.2 square miles located several miles to the southeast of Downtown Los Angeles in Southern California. Vernon currently houses more than 1,800 businesses that employ approximately 55,000 people, serving as a vital economic engine in the region. Offering an environment uniquely friendly to business. Vernon is the home to industries including food and agriculture, apparel, steel, plastics, logistics and home furnishings.

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SOURCE The City of Vernon