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Through a network of seven kinds of energy sources, Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) has been providing reliable and renewable electricity to five Central Coast counties, including San Benito, since 2017.
Founded as Monterey Bay Community Power, 3CE now serves nearly 1.2 million business and residential customers, representing approximately 95% of energy users in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties.
Since its inception, 3CE has also invested more than $660,000 in San Benito County through rebates on electric vehicles and batteries, as well as investments in electric buses and programs for home and agricultural electrification.
Graniterock has recently become a 3CE customer and, by supplementing its solar arrays with power coming from 3CE, Director of Sustainability and Ecology Jon Erskine said the company’s energy use is now 100% renewable.
“Producing our own power and using 3CE gives us an advantage,” he said. “It helps us not only reduce our cost of doing business, but it helps us do it in a very green way. So, it’s a double win.”
3CE sprang from the passage of Assembly Bill 117, introduced by Senator Carole Migden and enacted in 2002. The bill authorizes 3CE and other companies to aggregate energy from various sources and bundle it for distribution through power providers such as PG&E.
According to Senior Policy and Legislative Advisor Das Williams, 3CE draws power from energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower, with any excess energy directed to batteries and compressed air storage.
“We buy energy on the public’s behalf,” he said, “and we are not only thinking about long-term affordability, but also about how those resources can reduce pollution and reduce our contribution to climate change.”
Statistics provided by 3CE show that the use of renewable energy avoids the production of more than 445,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of taking 105,911 gas-powered passenger vehicles off the road for a year
As of 2024-25, the sources used by 3CE can generate 409 megawatts (MW) of power with 110 MW of battery storage, which, according to the company, is sufficient to power 350,850 homes. The battery storage helps to supplement the grid during peak energy usage, which Williams said is between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Charged during peak solar hours with the excess energy generated (but not used) by 3CE’s alternative energy partners, electricity that would otherwise go to waste can be released later in the day as a means of reducing the cost of generating power from other sources.
“It’s the most expensive time of the day to be using energy,” Wiliams said. “And it is also the dirtiest time. We’re especially interested in helping shift the load to battery storage and reducing pollution, which also really reduces your bill.”
This can be seen clearly in a chart prepared by 3CE showing energy use on 2024’s Independence Day weekend. The bottom of the chart, marked in orange, shows batteries being charged, peaking at around 10 a.m. Starting around 6 p.m., renewable energy, marked in green, drops by around 80% at which point battery power begins to discharge, entering the grid at the top of the chart in orange.
“The combination of energy generation and storage has great uptime,” Williams said. “Solar still works on cloudy days, so as long as you build your storage beefy enough to get you through the night, you’re good.”
Energy sources used by 3CE range throughout California and include the Victory Pass solar array and storage in Riverside County (100 MW), Coso Geothermal in Inyo County (66.3 MW), and Mountain View Wind in Mono County (33.3 MW).
Future plans include almost a dozen new facilities in California, stretching from Green Valley Energy Storage in Monterey County to San Gabriel Energy Storage in Los Angeles.
“We’re on track to get to 68% renewable energy by 2028,” Williams said. “This would mean we are decarbonizing 10 to 15 years faster than the state mandates.”
Of more direct interest to county residents, 3CE offers several rebate and incentive programs, most of which, as a result of cuts by Congress in the Big Beautiful Bill, will be expiring very soon.
“These incentives are in everyone’s interests,” Williams said. “For many years, California has kept pace with rising energy demand by its use of greater levels of energy efficiency. Throwing those out is something that’s going to cost money in the long run for all consumers.”
Government incentives about to expire include:
- Up to $4,000 for a battery electric vehicle ($3,000 for a used vehicle)
- Up to $3,000 for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle ($2,000 for a used vehicle)
- Up to $2,000 for an electric motorcycle
- Up to $500 per kilowatt hour for home batteries
- Up to $700 for a charger
Rebates of up to $3,000 for all-electric housing are paused until Oct 1, and the application period for most other rebates expires on Sept. 30. 3CE also offers its own series of ongoing incentives for home electrification and electric vehicles.
Williams said that the recent uptick in alternative energy projects, such as a 37% increase in solar projects in the U.S. during the first six months of the year, suggests that what began as clean-air policies has now built enough economic momentum that carbon-free energy will exceed 50% of the country’s load.
“There’s no reason not to take this moment,” Williams said. “If people are worried about the future of the climate, there are things that they can do, like buy an EV or a heat pump water heater. We can build a clean energy future by collective action.”
3CE Energy Rebates and Incentives
3CE Energy Programs in English and Spanish.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriter, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), for helping to cover alternative and innovative energy stories around San Benito County. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, incorporated in California in 1905, is one of the largest utility companies in the United States. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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