Tule River hydro sale pending
-January 28,2021-
PG&E announced Dec. 30 that it has sold its Kern Canyon hydroelectric project to Kern and Tule Hydro LLC.
In mid-2018, PG&E issued a request for offers to solicit purchase proposals for the 11.5-megawatt facility, located near Highway 178 about 15 miles east of Bakersfield.
The Project is currently shut down, having sustained injury due to storm damage on January 5, 2017. However, the plant is reparable and has an active Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license valid through January 1, 2039.
The CPUC has approved a negotiated price is $3 million and the transaction costs, primarily related to electrical interconnection, are estimated at $1.2 million.
The Kern Canyon Project, built in 1921, is no longer an economic source of electric generation for PG&E’s customers says the utility.
The Kern Canyon Project was built in 1921 and consists of a small diversion dam, a 1.6-mile tunnel and a penstock to the single generating unit at Kern Canyon powerhouse.. The sale also includes approximately 700 acres of land.
The PUC approved PG&E’s grant of a perpetual Land Conservation Easement to the Sequoia Riverlands Trust in 2015.
Tule project pending
PG&E announced interest in selling another non-active hydroelectric project on the Tule River near Springville. The parties are still in negotiation on this facility
The Tule River project is located in Tulare County, 35 miles east of Porterville. A wildland fire in 2017 damaged the penstock headworks and the facility has not operated since. The project includes about 40 acres of land.
SCE also owns a hydro project on the Tule