Printable Version (8kb) *
* Adobe PDF Reader is required.
Alameda County Expands Nation’s Largest Rooftop
Solar Electric System to 1.14 MW
PowerLight’s PowerGuard ®
Solar Electric Roof System to Provide Alameda County
With the Fourth Largest Solar Installation in the World
OAKLAND, CA, DEC. 4, 2001 – The Alameda County Board of Supervisors
announced today that it is expanding what is already the nation’s
largest rooftop solar electric system, located
atop the County’s Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California. PowerLight
Corporation of Berkeley, CA, the leading manufacturer and solutions
provider of large-scale solar electric systems, has been commissioned
to increase the current solar array from approximately 640 kilowatts
by another 500 kilowatts, to 1.14 Megawatts. When completed next spring,
this expanded
system will cover approximately three acres of the jail’s roof,
and will be the fourth-largest solar photovoltaic (PV) system in the
world.
"The decision to expand solar electric generation
capacity at the Santa Rita Jail was easy because the economics were
so compelling,” said Alameda County supervisor Scott Haggerty,
President of the Board of Supervisors. "Harnessing the sun’s
power to generate clean on-site electricity is not only a good investment,
but it’s also a safe way to become more electrically independent
and environmentally-friendly at the same time.”
“The on-site solar power and energy efficiency solutions we implemented
through our relationship with PowerLight reflect the future of the energy
industry,” noted Alameda County Energy Program Manager Matt Muniz.
“With solar electric generation, we are able to reduce our overall
energy cost, and in particular, reduce our purchases of expensive, peak
energy from our local utility. With energy efficiency and demand side
management technologies, we
are able to reduce costs even further than solar alone, while at the
same time revitalizing our facility.”
Alameda County commissioned PowerLight in early 2001 to help reduce
the Santa Rita Jail’s electric utility bill two ways. First, by
displacing utility electricity with clean on-site solar power and secondly,
by reducing the facility’s overall need for electricity through
a combination of added insulation from the solar roof tiles and a comprehensive
upgrade to the jail’s central plant, including state-of-the-art
cooling equipment and controls. CMS Viron
Energy Services, a leading engineering-based energy services and performance-contracting
company implemented the central plant upgrades.
The combined on-site solar power and energy efficiency upgrades have
delivered impressive net savings to the County. To date, the combined
project has reduced the facility’s peak summer demand consumption
of grid-generated electricity by 25%. Already nearly two million kilowatt-hours
of annual electricity consumption are diverted from California’s
electric grid by the Santa Rita Jail project. These savings benefit
all state consumers by reducing
grid power purchases, most of which occur during peak electrical demand
hours – at times when state transmission lines are the most constrained.
Based on current PG&E electricity rates, the total
project savings including the announced 500 kilowatt system expansion
will save Alameda County approximately $400,000 in the first year of
operation and about $15 million in net savings over the 25-year life
of the project. The completed 1.14 Megawatt system will produce enough
electricity to supply 30% of the jail’s daytime needs. This is
equivalent to powering more than 1,000 homes in the Bay Area
and displace more than 3 million pounds per year of harmful emissions
(CO2, NOX, SOX) that cause smog, acid rain and global warming.
“We applaud Alameda County’s leadership in implementing smart
energy strategies using clean on-site solar electric power and energy
conservation,” noted PowerLight CEO Tom Dinwoodie. “Alameda
County is demonstrating how local governments can improve air quality
while saving taxpayers’ dollars.”
Alameda County did not have to authorize any general fund revenues to
finance its solar electric generation and energy efficiency projects.
Funds for the projects come from the
California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Emerging Renewable Buydown
program, incentives from California PUC, and prior energy efficiency
incentive payments. The County has also accessed a low interest rate
energy efficiency loan from the CEC. The debt service for this loan
will be paid by the project’s electrical cost savings.
Contact:
Matt Muniz, P.E.
Alameda County
(510) 208-9518
matt.muniz@acgov.org
http://www.acgov.org/
Susan DeVico
PowerLight
(415) 434-8220
sdevico@powerlight.com
www.powerlight.com