Pacific Power Renewables has broken ground on a 947 kW solar photovoltaic system for the City of Reedley, Calif., involving four sites. The solar power produced at the wastewater treatment plant, community center, city hall and an office building are expected to offset 100% of the city's power usage at those locations.
The City of Reedley has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Power Renewables, which will own, operate and maintain the solar plants. The largest solar array is a ground-mounted single axis tracker system that is being installed at the wastewater treatment plant. The other three sites will have fixed roof-mount systems.
The solar arrays at the four sites for the city have 3,766 modules and are expected to generate over 1.9 GWh of electricity annually. The systems are scheduled to be interconnected by the end of the year.
‘Over time, this project will result in the reduction of electrical costs as a percentage of budgets paid from the General Fund and Sewer Enterprise Fund,’ says Paul Melikian, Reedley's director of finance and administrative services. ‘In essence, those future funds that would have been appropriated for electricity rate increases can be used for other purposes and/or reduce the magnitude of future tax, fee or rate increases.’
