of EBMUD.
At its Oct. 13 meeting, the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners approved extending a contract to purchase renewable electricity from the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The energy will come from the district’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Power Generation Station.
The port has been buying the electricity for 10 years under a power purchase agreement with the utility. This latest agreement extends the port’s access to the district’s renewable energy for an additional 2.5 years.
“This helps us to exceed regulatory requirements for renewable sources of electricity for our current and future needs,” Port of Oakland Utilities Administration Manager Jared Carpenter said. “This is good for our community.”
The Port of Oakland is a publicly owned utility delivering energy to a variety of customers within the seaport. In 2020, the port’s total power supply mix included 70.4% from renewable resources, of which 20.3% came from the East Bay district and 12.8% came from large hydroelectric generators, for a total of 83.2% energy delivered from non-carbon emitting resources.
In 2012, the district became one of the first wastewater treatment plants in North America to produce more renewable energy onsite than is needed to run the facility. The accomplishment was made possible when the district installed an energy-efficient, low-emission gas turbine in 2011.
Officials sell the excess renewable energy to the Port of Oakland, cutting fossil-fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions and providing savings for district and port ratepayers.