Solano County hits megawatt milestone for solar

County hits megawatt milestone for solar 11/21/2007

The County of Solano will be harnessing more than 1 million watts of electrical energy from the sun’s rays when a “shade structure” for school buses is complete late next year.

The Board of Supervisors recently approved a 746,000-watt solar array project to offset the power needs of the Claybank Adult Detention Facility. The solar array will serve double duty as shade structures for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District buses which are currently using the old missile magazine site as a parking lot.

“Solano County recognizes the importance of supporting renewable energy,” said Supervisor John Vasquez. “We are taking a piece of land with limited development potential and converting it to provide cost effective green power to a critical County facility. That’s doing the right thing in a smart business way.”

The County has two other solar electric facilities: a 230,000-watt system on the roof of the Health and Social Services building on Beck Avenue and a 120,000-watt array on the parking structure of the County Government Center in downtown Fairfield.

Honeywell International will construct, own and maintain the 746-kilowatt solar array. The County will purchase the power from Honeywell at a low fixed rate that reduces the cost electricity during peak times. County officials estimate the project will reduce power costs at the jail by $1 million over the 20-year Solar Power Agreement.

The County will also receive half of the Renewable Energy Credits generated by the project, currently valued at $113,000 over the 20-year term. The true dollar value of the credits for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions is yet to be determined, as the market in California is just developing.

The energy produced from the project is estimated to reduce the County’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 14,571 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the next 20 years. “That’s equivalent to not burning 1.6 million gallons of gasoline or recycling 4,805 tons of waste destined for the landfill,” said Jason Campbell, County Facilities Manager.

The Claybank solar project is partially funded by the incentives in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s initiative to have 3,000 megawatts of new solar facilities installed on homes and businesses by 2017.

Using renewable energy, such as the solar photovoltaic system being used on Claybank, helps the County reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels and the impacts on climate change, Campbell said. By taking advantage of the incentives available from the state, Federal tax credits and modified depreciation formulas, the new solar system is cost effective.

“As leaders, we should be maximizing the use of solar. It’s not always about the dollars, it’s about doing the right thing,” said Supervisor Barbara Kondylis.