CitiesGoGreen - January 2009 - (Page 13) Working with a Solar Energy Service Provider Saving Money with Solar At no cost to the local government, a Solar Energy Service Provider (SESP) builds and operates a dedicated solar installation, supplying cheaper, clean power, at a known cost for 20 years. In a time of increasing energy volatility, that may sound attractive. Here are a couple of examples. Lake County Solar-Powered Infrastructure Partnerships of Lake County Sanitation District Lake County Sheriff's Department SunPower and Northern California Power Agency SPG Solar Solar Powered Jail Lakeport Solar Powered Northwest Wastewater Treatment Plant Clear Lake Mt. Konocti Solar Powered Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant Clearlake he Lake County News reports that Lake County, California, is installing solar in five locations. In what may be the third largest public entity solar installation in the western US (bigger than Google’s), one location serves the Lake County Jail, three will power facilities for the Lake County Sanitation District, serving 35,000 people, and one will help run the Northern California Power Authority’s Geysers pump station. The arrays in total will avoid the release of 3,740,000 pounds of CO2 a year and produce almost 3.5 megawatts at full capacity. SunPower Corporation of San Jose was contracted in 2007 to build and run four of the facilities for the county, and makes the solar panels as well. A utility-approved third party will install and run the performance monitoring system, and SunPower will install a touchscreen kiosk in the courthouse so the public can learn about the system. Savings are estimated to be $35-$45,000 a year at current rates, with a 20 year agreement. T Photovoltaic panels at County facilities produce enough power for the equivalent of 1,000 homes. Solar Powered Geysers Pipeline Pump Station Effluent pipeline to the Geysers Jail Solar Array Acres Installed Capacity (MW) % of Facility Electricity Needs CO2 Lbs/Yr Avoided 3.8 0.746 91% 840,000 NW Wastewater Plant 6.8 0.998 92% 1,330,000 SE Wastewater Plant 4.9 0.735 90% 770,000 NCPA Geysers Pump Station 7.0 1.0 100% 800,000 All Systems 22.5 3.479 94% avg. 3,740,000 he California Power Authority (CPA) began deploying solar with SunEdison in 2006 and now hosts 4 MW of solar power at eight locations to meet rising energy costs and a state mandate to implement renewable energy. One host is Chuckawalla Valley State Prison, a 1 MW ground mounted system installed in June 2006. The prison saves money on energy bills, supports state renewable energy mandates, and incurs no upfront capital expenses. T 635/141 rvada, Colorado, is also moving to solar power, to run its Ralston Water Treatment Plant. The 633 kW installation will reduce energy rates significantly and lock in energy rates for 20 years, with a maximum 2% annual rate increase. Savings are projected at $800,000 to $1 million altogether, depending on how energy prices change. SunEdison is providing a turnkey service, installing and operating the five acre system at no upfront cost to the city. The new solar source will supply 85% of the water treatment plant’s energy needs and reduce CO2 emissions by 40 million pounds over 20 years. With the more than 3,300 solar panels right next to the plant, transmission losses disappear. The panels track the sun, and SunEdison will be able to monitor performance continuously over the entire two decades. Clark Johnson, Assistant to the City Manager, started working on the project about two years ago, when the city received incentives from Excel Energy to develop solar power. As he says in a video on the Arvada website, “It’s really about our commitment to environmental sustainability and City Council’s goal to be sustainable both economically and environmentally, and that means doing projects that make sense in the pocketbook and that aren’t a burden on the taxpayers, but also reach our goals of a sustainable and clean energy future.” January 2009 A Arvada’s mayor, Bob Frie 13 http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/january-2009/current-feature/saving-money-with-solar http://www.co.lake.ca.us/site3.aspx http://lakeconews.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6450&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=764 http://www.sunpowercorp.com/For-Businesses/Case-Studies/State-local-agencies.aspx http://www.sunpowercorp.com/For-Businesses/Case-Studies/State-local-agencies.aspx http://www.sunedison.com/government-overview.php http://www.ci.arvada.co.us/ http://www.sunedison.com/government-overview.php http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com
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