The City Council’s Municipal Services Committee (MSC) will receive an informational update Tuesday on Pasadena Water and Power’s (PWP) Municipal Solar Program, which now calls for two rounds of competitive procurement covering municipal buildings across the city.
The committee is not being asked to take action.
“Pasadena has to lead by example,” said Justin Jones, committee chair. “If we’re going to hit our 2030 carbon-free targets, we have to put our own municipal assets to work first, turning our city rooftops from policy into power. But clean energy can’t just be for residents who can afford solar on their own homes. On MSC, our focus is moving these projects from RFP to reality while working on our residential rebate programs, ensuring we don’t leave anyone behind, including seniors on fixed incomes and renters who can’t install panels themselves. We are committed to delivering this infrastructure efficiently while listening to and respecting feedback from the residents we represent.”
Originally conceived as a pilot project at five locations, the program has evolved into a broader strategy designed to generate localized clean energy while reducing long-term electricity costs and improving grid reliability.
Staff said the expanded approach follows additional technical evaluations and coordination among city departments.
The first phase includes 13 sites identified as best positioned for near-term implementation.
Pasadena Water and Power released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on July 23, and construction is targeted for completion by June 2028. A second procurement, expected to begin in October, will include 14 additional candidate sites with a target completion date of June 2029.
According to the staff report, the presentation to the committee will outline projected solar generating capacity, the city’s site evaluation process and implementation strategy, while addressing issues such as tree canopy preservation, parking and traffic circulation, public access, stakeholder coordination and other site-specific constraints.
The municipal solar initiative is part of Pasadena’s broader Optimized Strategic Plan (OSP), which the City Council adopted to implement Resolution 9977, committing the city to obtain all of its electricity from carbon-free resources by the end of 2030 — 15 years ahead of a statewide target.
The strategy includes expanding locally generated renewable energy while modernizing the city’s electric infrastructure and maintaining affordability and reliability.
As part of the first phase, Pasadena previously identified the Lamanda Park, San Rafael, Allendale and Linda Vista branch libraries, along with the City Maintenance Yards, for municipal solar installations.
Those projects represent about 0.68 megawatts of the city’s long-term goal of installing 20 megawatts of municipally owned solar generation.
The city has since broadened the effort after issuing a request for information covering solar and battery storage feasibility at 21 municipal facilities.
Staff received 12 responses from industry firms, helping refine project costs, technical approaches and implementation strategies before moving to a Design-Build procurement model.
Pasadena Water and Power has also incorporated the municipal solar initiative into the city’s Fiscal Year 2027-31 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which recommends approximately $90 million in investments over five years to build solar generation across municipal facilities in phases.
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