(From press release) Valley Clean Energy, Yolo County’s public power supplier, reports that even cleaner and greener energy has been delivered to its electricity customers than was projected at last year’s launch.

“One of our core goals is to supply Woodland, Davis and unincorporated Yolo County with cost-competitive clean energy,” said Tom Stallard, Valley Clean Energy board chair and a Woodland City Council member. “I’m happy to report that this year VCE has exceeded this goal while still matching PG&E’s rates.”

An analysis of VCE’s 2018 power content revealed that the community choice energy program’s Standard Green electricity portfolio included 48 percent renewable energy (all from wind power sources) and was 85 percent carbon-free, Interim General Manager Mitch Sears reports. The majority of VCE customers receive Standard Green energy.

That exceeds original VCE program goals of 42 percent renewable energy, with 75 percent of the total carbon-free, Sears says.

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(From press release) Unshaded asphalt will burn you: it reaches over 150 degrees in the summer.

So, with forecasts now estimating Davis temperatures will rise to rival today’s deserty Tuscon, shade trees will determine if we will still be able to walk, bike, or even comfortably wait for a bus on summer afternoon.  Or even walk your bare-footed dog.

The Davis’s climate resiliency plans will be putting shade trees front and center, and to that end the City has obtained a ½ million dollar grant to develop a new Forestry Master Plan.

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(From press release) The Valley Clean Energy board of directors will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Council Chambers at Woodland City Hall, 300 First St. in Woodland. The meeting is open to the public.

The board — which includes members of the Woodland and Davis city councils and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors — is expected to adopt residential time-of-use rates and receive an update on potential acquisition of PG&E wire and pole assets.

The meeting agenda is available at https://valleycleanenergy.org/board-meetings/.

VCE, the local electricity provider, launched in June 2018 and provides cleaner energy at competitive rates to 55,000 local customers.

By Tom Stallard

It’s been a long hot summer, but those cool autumn days aren’t too far off…

And thanks to Valley Clean Energy, local electricity customers are not paying any more to run their air-conditioners than they would have paid under PG&E. At the same time, they are reaping the environmental benefits of a greener energy portfolio.

Community choice programs like VCE can keep their rates competitive by buying electricity through a process that encourages private energy companies to compete to provide clean, renewable power.

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