Central Coast Community Energy outlines battery, rebate and electrification programs for Guadalupe

Spencer Brent, community relations manager for Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), presented 3CE’s 2024 annual update to the Guadalupe City Council on July 22, 2025, describing renewable supply, storage projects and customer rebate programs available to Guadalupe residents.

Brent said 3CE serves about 1.2 million people across 30 cities and five counties and that in 2024 the agency delivered roughly 409 megawatts of renewable electricity — "enough to power 350,000 homes" — and that the deliveries avoided "over 445,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions." He said 3CE has contracts secured to supply 64% of its load from renewable sources by October and is on a path to reach 100% clean energy 10–15 years ahead of state mandates.

Brent outlined the role of battery and storage systems on the grid, saying storage helps reduce reliance on fossil-fuel “peaker” plants during evening peak hours and can provide customer backup during disasters such as wildfires. He described utility-scale projects under development, including the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center — a compressed-air storage facility in Kern County that Brent said will supply about 200 megawatts for the critical 4 p.m.–9 p.m. peak window — and solar projects such as Aratina (about 120 megawatts) and Atlas and Victory Pass solar-plus-storage sites.

Brent also summarized customer-facing programs: Electrify Your Ride (rebates of $1,000–$4,000 for qualifying new or used electric vehicles and chargers), home electrification and battery rebates, targeted agricultural funding, and public-agency programs for fleet electrification. He said 3CE’s Charger Fleet program can provide up to $150,000 per year, including up to $100,000 for a DC fast charger. Brent noted that 7,000 customers in the service area have received rebates totaling about $11 million since 2018, including more than $4 million for income-qualified or underserved customers. He added that the City of Guadalupe previously received funding toward an all-electric bus.

Brent warned of an immediate change at the federal level: he said H.R.1 (described during the presentation as a federal legislative change) would end some tax credits for electric-vehicle and home-energy investments after September 30 and end credits for some home upgrades after the end of the year. "Because our customers often stack the funding that we can provide with these tax credits, that means that time is of the essence," Brent said, urging residents considering purchases to move quickly.

He also described 3CE’s regional policy work, including support for the Pathways Initiative — an effort to create a regional electricity market across roughly 10 Western states so California can trade excess solar energy with neighboring systems.

Council members asked questions about project locations and specifics. Brent confirmed Willow Rock is in Kern County and said 3CE currently does not have a power-purchase agreement with the Nopomo battery project, so he could not provide an update on that site. He said 3CE requires contracted storage projects to use containerized systems with fire suppression and to meet current fire and building codes.

Brent said 3CE runs outreach in multiple languages, has bilingual staff, provides translated materials and offers a customer-service hotline supporting more than 150 languages. He offered flyers and said he would send presentation materials and a PDF of an upcoming webinar, “Power Up Your Property,” scheduled for the next day at 11 a.m., aimed at commercial property owners and tools to access charger funding.