Kern County, California — Tucked into a green-gold hillside at the base of the San Joaquin Valley, this low midcentury building is the heart of California’s great water system. For more than 50 years, the Edmundston Pumping Station has pumped water nearly 2,000 feet from the towering Tehachapi Mountains, connecting water from Northern California to 27 million people in the southern part of the state.
The factory has 14 gurgling pumps installed in two buildings the size of a soccer field, making it one of the most powerful pumping systems in the world. But it can require more than 800 megawatts of power to operate, making it one of the state’s largest single consumers of electricity.
Now, the equation is changing. On a recent weekday morning, dozens of state officials and energy industry representatives gathered at the Tejon Ranch across the road from Edmundston to celebrate the completion of a shiny new solar farm that will power the pumps. Calpine’s 105-megawatt Pastoria solar project, part of Constellation Energy Corp., is the largest renewable energy project contracted by the California Department of Water Resources and is a major step in its plans. Fully decarbonize our operations by 2035, Consistent with state law.
“Most Californians (that’s 1 in 12 Americans) get their water from state water projects,” said DWR Director Carla Nemeth. “Initiatives like the Pastoria Solar Project are needed to make our systems carbon neutral by 2035. Meeting our clean energy goals while continuing to provide uninterrupted water supplies will set the standard for other public agencies across the country.”
The pumping station is powered by California’s main power grid and will continue to do so. However, the water board signed a contract to receive the solar power generated at the power plant. This is a common and recognized method for government agencies and businesses to clean up their power supplies.
Workers inspect the battery storage system during a tour of the Pastoria facility.
The new Pastoria project is approximately three miles from the pump. 226,000 solar panels will be installed on 500 acres of land and will power an on-site electrical substation. Power doesn’t choose that route, but officials said power generated nearby tends to meet nearby demand.
The solar farm is also adjacent to a soon-to-be-completed 80-megawatt/320-megawatt-hour battery storage bank and Calpine’s existing 750-megawatt natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant, which company officials describe as a “tria” of energy reliability. A four-hour battery will help fill in the gaps during times when the sun isn’t shining, while a gas and steam plant will fill in the rest of the time.
“By co-locating solar PV, battery storage and a highly efficient natural gas combined cycle plant, we can support California’s long-term energy goals while providing critical services at key points in the power transmission system,” said Calpine President and CEO Andrew Novotny.
The water authority awarded the solar power plant a 20-year power purchase agreement at a rate of $1 per megawatt hour. Pacific Gas & Electric has signed a 15-year contract for an undisclosed fee for the battery bank.
The project comes as California and the nation grapple with rising energy demands due to the rise of artificial intelligence data centers, putting new pressure on a power grid already strained by extreme heat and aging infrastructure.
It also comes as the Trump administration seeks to roll back federal climate regulations and accelerate fossil fuel production. The president announced last year that he would eliminate federal tax credits for commercial solar projects, calling them “expensive and unreliable.” Pastoria is in jeopardy because the project must begin construction by July or be operational by the end of next year.
But officials said projects like Pastoria offer a path for California to quickly add power while meeting its clean energy goals. About half of the State Water Project’s energy needs can be met by its own hydropower, but the other half must come from Pastoria and similar efforts, said John Yarbrough, deputy director of the State Water Project. This includes another 100-megawatt Kern County solar project scheduled to come online next year. Kyan solar power generation project.
Pastoria Tibrius substation at the Irvin facility.
“We have a front row seat to the effects of climate change,” Yarbrough said. “It gives us a vested interest in doing what we can to protect our nation and mitigate the causes of climate change.”
Yarbrough said the main benefit of the Pastoria solar project is not financial savings, but rather decarbonization, since climate change from fossil fuel emissions is already making California’s hydropower more unpredictable. In fact, the project could increase the cost of water for contractors purchasing from state water projects.
Jonathan Young, energy manager for State Water Contractors, a nonprofit representing California’s 27 water agencies, including the large Metropolitan Water District serving Los Angeles, said this has caused anxiety within the agency.
“In general, we support the direction DWR is going, but there are concerns that there may be cost implications,” Young said. The organization estimates that DWR’s decarbonization efforts will cost its members $1.5 billion by 2045.
He said it’s not yet clear how much the Pastoria project alone will increase people’s water bills, but those costs will trickle down to ratepayers.
The Pastoria Energy facility is located below Irvine Hills in Kern County.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
But Young said water agencies also recognize the need to address climate change, and building these projects now may be the last chance to take advantage of cost savings before federal tax credits expire.
“At the end of the day, this is an additional cost for our members, who face many other affordability challenges,” he said. But their primary focus is on reliable water delivery, so “if it means our members can continue to receive water and we can deliver water to producers and cities, then that’s it.”
Some expressed optimism about the project, including Molly Starkel, director of electricity delivery, planning and costing at the California Public Utilities Commission. He said projects like Pastoria show the state’s clean energy plan is achievable and “not just a plan on paper.”
“These are really important. It proves that these goals are reliable,” she said. “Each year, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.”
Starkel told the crowd in front of glowing solar panels that California has brought 31,000 megawatts of new clean energy resources online since 2020, and 22,000 megawatts of new contracted resources will come online by 2030.
“This project is real and part of a historic wave of clean energy development in California,” she said.
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