Richmond, Calif.-based West County Wastewater District (WCWD), Solar Power Partners Inc. (SPP) and Premier Power Renewable Energy have completed a solar energy system designed to replace 35% of WCWD's annual electricity usage with energy at zero out-of-pocket costs.
SPP, which owns and operates the solar equipment, set up a power purchase agreement (PPA) with WCWD. The PPA enables WCWD to buy the electricity at a contractually fixed rate, helping it to manage its operating costs and keep billing as low as possible for its ratepayers.
The installation, designed and installed by Premier Power, represents the largest dual-axis, sun-tracking solar power project in the U.S., Premier Power says. Premier Power located 89 dual-axis trackers, manufactured by ET Solar, across the WCWD Richmond treatment facility site, including 28 trackers that rise above the potential high-water line of a storm-water storage pond. Premier Power says it built all of the tracking towers to withstand flooding and submersion while meeting all seismic restrictions and solving soil engineering challenges.
SOURCE: Premier Power Renewable Energy Inc.
