California City Completes Solar Installation at Wastewater Treatment Plant

Mayor Gary Yep and City Manager Luis Patlan of Kerman, Calif. joined officials of ConEdison Solutions and Borrego Solar Systems to dedicate a solar installation at the city of Kerman’s wastewater treatment plant.

By tapping solar power as an energy source, taxpayers will enjoy approximately 40% net reduction in the treatment plant’s electricity costs—a savings of more than $95,000 per year. 

Through a 20-year purchase power agreement with ConEdison Solutions, the half-megawatt solar facility will supply 70% of the plant’s electricity and generate 940,000 kWh of power annually.

The 1,680-panel solar installation is owned and operated by ConEdison Solutions, an energy services company based in Valhalla, N.Y., and was constructed by Borrego Solar Systems Inc., a solar company headquartered in San Diego, CA. 

“We expanded the capability of our waste water treatment facility to better serve the growing Kerman community, but this larger state-of-the-art operation requires more energy to operate, and in turn, more electricity,” said Mayor Gary Yep. “By going solar, Kerman is offsetting the increase in electricity, reducing our net-energy costs, and protecting our budget against future utility-rate increases while creating local jobs. This public-private partnership will reduce Kerman’s electricity costs for 20 years, and required zero upfront capital expense.”

In other initiatives by the city, the wastewater treatment plant has undergone a $6.7 million expansion, the largest capital improvement initiative in the city’s history. The plant expansion was made possible with a $2 million grant via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a $4.7 million loan from California’s State Water Resources Board Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund.  

Source: Borrego Solar Systems