City Asks Contractors to Put Solar on Its Libraries and Parking Lots

Pasadena wants its libraries, recreation centers and parking lots to start making electricity.

Pasadena Water and Power has opened two solicitations. One seeks contractors to design and build solar and energy storage at 13 city-owned properties. The other creates a way for large private property owners and clean energy developers to build generation and sell the electricity straight to the utility.

Both descend from the plan the City Council adopted in December to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by the end of 2030. The municipal sites would add roughly 2.6 megawatts. The utility has said it needs up to 375 megawatts of additional renewables and 175 megawatts of storage by the end of the decade.

The first solicitation, Design-Build Services for Solar and Energy Storage Installations at Select City-Owned Properties, covers 13 municipal properties including libraries, recreation centers and parking lots, with responses due September 30, 2026, and completion targeted by June 2028, the city said in announcing the solicitations. A second RFP, covering 14 additional city-owned properties and about 6.1 megawatts, is expected to be published later this year, with completion targeted in 2029. More solicitations are expected in 2027.

The second offer is new. The Clean Power Pasadena Partnership, or CP3, asks large property owners and clean energy developers to build renewable projects and sell the output directly to the utility. Projects must be at least 200 kilowatts and must connect directly to Pasadena Water and Power’s electric distribution system, the city said. To help reduce upfront costs, the utility will fund eligible interconnection work. Responses are due October 30, 2026.

Beyond adding carbon-free supply, the city said the resources built through both initiatives will strengthen local reliability by reducing the utility’s dependence on imported electricity. The city called the two initiatives “a significant investment in the future of local, carbon-free energy.”

Resolution 9977, adopted January 30, 2023, declared climate change an emergency and set the goal of sourcing all of Pasadena’s electricity from carbon-free sources on an hourly basis by the end of 2030. The Optimized Strategic Plan, the implementation roadmap developed with the consulting firm Energy and Environmental Economics, was approved unanimously on December 15, 2025.

“Pasadena is committed to pursuing every opportunity that moves us closer to our carbon-free goals,” David Reyes, general manager of Pasadena Water and Power, said in a news release issued by the city. “Achieving these goals requires innovative partnerships, forward-thinking solutions, and continued modernization of our utility.”

Pasadena Water and Power serves more than 65,000 electric customers, all of them inside the city. Altadena’s electricity comes from Southern California Edison, though Pasadena Water and Power does deliver water into portions of the unincorporated community.

Customers are paying more for that power. The City Council approved a three-phase electric rate increase this spring, with each phase raising rates about 7%. The first took effect in April; the second is scheduled for October 2026, the same month the CP3 deadline falls.

The municipal solar program began as a five-site pilot representing about 0.68 megawatts. In late July, the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee received an update describing an expanded portfolio of 27 city facilities. The city’s long-term goal is 20 megawatts of municipally owned solar generation.

Both solicitations are posted on the Pasadena OpenGov Procurement Portal. The City Service Center can be reached at (626) 744-7311.

“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,” said Councilmember Justin Jones, who chairs the Municipal Services Committee.