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Select city facilities in Livermore will soon be equipped with solar and storage systems, for an estimated energy savings exceeding $2.1 million over the course of 25 years.
Clean, renewable electricity from the solar photovoltaic systems — set for installation by mid-April, 2026 — will be provided to City Hall, Civic Center Meeting Hall, Maintenance Service Center, Water Reclamation Plant and the Police Department.
Installations will include rooftop solar, solar carports or a combination of both. Battery storage will also be installed at all facilities except the Water Reclamation Plant for containment of energy produced during the day and use at night or times of high-energy demand.
In addition to cost-savings, the move towards solar energy will improve energy resilience during grid-outages, support the transition to clean, local power and lower reliance on diesel generators, according to Livermore sustainability program manager Tricia Pontau
Behind the project is a 25-year Renewable Energy and Storage Power Purchase Agreement between the city of Livermore and electricity provider Ava Community Energy, unanimously approved by the Livermore City Council at a regular meeting Jan. 10.
“I’ve never heard anybody complain that the city shouldn’t try to save money,” Mayor John Marchand said at the meeting. “Without an upfront capital investment, we’re saving money and I think that’s something that everybody can get behind.”
The agreement bears no up-front costs to the city. Instead, the city will make monthly payments of $0.204/kWh for the solar power generated and $10/kW for storage capacity.
According to JP Ross, Vice President of local development, electrification and innovation at Ava, the project will begin in the next three months, with construction scheduled for the second half of 2025.Â
Under Ava, Green Bridge and Gridscape will finance, install, own, operate and maintain the solar and storage systems. Electrical upgrades and improvements by Gridscape will be included in monthly payments to Ava.
Much of the cost-savings from the project are possible because the facilities are grandfathered into the state’s previous net energy metering laws, which provide high compensation rates for excess solar energy that is sold back to the grid, according to Pontau. They are able to maintain this status if the system is installed by about April 2026.
“Despite that being over a year away, there are some concerns from the project development partners about supply chain and the potential for tariffs to negatively impact product pricing,” Pontau added.
Ross said, Ava is currently working to manage the potential risks. He is also confident Ava will be able to complete installation before the April cut-off.
Since six cities across the Bay Area including Livermore, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, and San Leandro are seeking solar and storage projects for municipal facilities through Ava, installation will be phased, Ross said.
The Water Reclamation Plant in Livermore is among the larger and complex sites, so it will be among the first to have its system installed.
During public comment, two of three speakers were displeased with the agreement.
To David McGuigan, the cost savings from the project is not substantial enough.
Solar power is not a replacement for fossil fuels, Greg Scott added.
“Saying that this is going to save the climate or anything like that is not true,” he said. Instead, Scott suggested cutting electrical usage.
Lastly, Trish Munro expressed support for the solar installations saying, “It’s not going to solve everything, but it will make a step in the right direction.”
Councilmember Ben Barrientos also supported the project, which he said would provide much-needed shade to police vehicles that can otherwise undergo wear and tear under the sun.
Councilmember Steven Dunbar, also backed the agreement, in favor of boosting the city facilities’ reliance during power outages.
Given the council’s green light, the city manager has authorization to approve the final agreement with pricing and feasibility issues resolved in the same form as they were presented to council.
The council also unanimously agreed to waive a mandated, 180-day wait period to hire Michael Pato, retired senior management analyst from the California Public Employees Retirement System.
The waiver was required by government code because Pato is a CalPERS retiree.
He will work at the city as a special projects coordinator to assist with reviewing lease proposals for city property with an emphasis on land use and infrastructure.
“We worked with Mike for many, many years and always appreciated the dedication and the commitment he brought to the organization. I’m glad to have him back for the interim,” Marchand said.
