The City of Coachella, Calif., has unveiled a 420 kW concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) power plant at the city's water reclamation plant. The installation was developed by Johnson Controls and Solar Power Partners (SPP) using 55 SolFocus SF-1100S tracking CPV systems.
The installation will offset 40% of the reclamation plant's daytime energy consumption, according to SolFocus. It was built on disturbed land that had limited potential use until the city envisioned employing this land for renewable power generation. The city leased the land to SPP, which financed and owns the project, and will operate the plant, selling electricity under a long-term power purchase agreement.
The plant is connected to the regional electrical grid serviced by the Imperial Irrigation District.
