Yolo County supervisors get annual Valley Clean Energy update – Daily Democrat

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors received its annual update from Valley Clean Energy at its last board meeting.

Valley Clean Energy is a locally owned, not-for-profit electricity provider serving the cities of Davis, Woodland, Winters and unincorporated Yolo County, committed to providing clean electricity, product choice and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On Tuesday, Valley Clean Energy (VCE) CEO Mitch Sears announced that the company, now in its sixth year serving the community, has expanded its clean energy capacity, saved customers $1.5 million since 2018 and committed $7 million to community reinvestment programs.

“We’re working all over the state to get energy,” Sears said. “We’re getting these clean energy projects going and not only that, but we’re trying to focus as much as we can in our region because there are collateral benefits to getting clean energy in our region.”

Sears said the VCE board, which includes board members Jim Provenza and Lucas Frerichs, recently directed the company to set a goal of sourcing 100% renewable energy for its customers by 2030.

Other updates shared by Sears included: the successful transition from SMUD to The Energy Authority (TEA), which resulted in cost savings, efficiencies and additional services; pursuing microgrid financing options; and VCE considering the sale of renewable energy credits in 2025 to offset rising energy costs.

Sears also spoke about its outreach and engagement goals, sharing that it hosted eight events last year, reaching more than 10,000 people in person and through media. VCE is currently working on developing a system that will allow it to respond to customer inquiries with “fast, tailored responses with a focus on authenticity and engagement.”

“We’re in the community talking about what VCE is, and we’re working on a new program called Energy Advisor that will take the project that’s just on people’s bills and then start adding an advisory role,” Sears explained. “It’ll give them another level of information that they can rely on.”

Last year, VCE also celebrated its fifth anniversary with four events at Downtown Woodland Food Truck Mania, the Downtown Winters Fourth Friday Festival, a five-year anniversary event in Davis, and a five-year anniversary event at the board meeting. These events brought VCE exposure to over 6,000 residents.

In addition to “developing a strong renewable energy portfolio,” VCE has helped facilitate electric vehicle charging, worked with residents through OhmConnect to provide free and discounted smart thermostats, and hopes to launch an electrified tractor program that will engage the farming community to enable them, where appropriate, to transition to electrifying farm equipment to improve air quality.

Finally, Sears announced that VCE is debt-free as of December 2023.

“We’re one of 25 (Community Choice Aggregation) programs in the state,” Sears said. “All the CCAs in the state serve over 14 million customers. That’s about one in three electric customers in the state of California. It’s a really solid movement that VCE is a part of.”