By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | April 16, 2009
Sun Edison crew workers Hector Estrada and Javier Hernandez walk past the new solar panels that were installed at the Budweiser Brewery in Fairfield Thursday afternoon. Photo by Mike Greener
FAIRFIELD - As dignitaries nearby flipped an oversized switch to illuminate an oversized bulb, a oversized array of real solar panels silently soaked in the sun.
Officials at the Anheuser-Busch brewery ceremonially activated the 6-acre field of panels on Thursday. The array has actually been working since December 2008, offsetting about 3 percent of the facility's power use.
The system 'will set an amazing example for other public and private enterprise in Solano County,' Fairfield Mayor Harry Price said.
The approximately 1.2-megawatt system is the first such undertaking by Anheuser-Busch at one of its breweries. Construction began last summer, and the system was activated Dec. 30.
State Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, attended the event to flip the large ceremonial switch. She said the increasing number of large-scale solar projects in recent years indicates that 'conservation makes good economic sense.'
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