Pacific Power Renewables has broken ground for the City of Reedley, Calif., to install solar power on four city sites. 947 kW is currently being installed at the waste water treatment plant, the community center, the Royal Valley building and Reedley City Hall. The solar production will offset 100% of the city’s power usage at those sites. According to Nicole Zieba, City Manager, “In our City’s Centennial Year (1913-2013), it seems apropos to continue Reedley’s longstanding tradition of being good stewards of both our natural resources and the public’s tax dollars.”
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 waste water treatment plant. The other three sites will have fixed roof mount systems.
“The City will save 10% over existing electricity costs at these four facilities the first year. This savings will be magnified in future years as electricity rates inevitably rise, and the City’s rates at the four locations are locked in for 20 years,” states Paul Melikian, Director of Finance and Administrative Services. “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. 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. If electricity rates increase on average of 3.0% per year over current rates, the City will realize $2,946,200 in future savings.”
“PPR is very happy to have been a part of helping the City achieve a green initiative and at the same time reduce their electricity expense. The relationship with Flyers Energy, who provided the tax equity financing, was key in making this possible,” said David Dwelle, President of Pacific Power Renewables.
Nicole Zieba said, “Many different solar vendors had approached us over the past couple of years, but Pacific Power Renewables stood out from the rest by understanding the values of our community and showing us that they wanted to be partners with our community for the long term, not just another vendor with a product. We are very pleased with how the project is rolling along so far.”
The solar arrays at the four sites for the City have 3,766 modules and are capable of generating over 1.9 million kilowatt-hours per year, more than enough to power 200 homes annually. The systems will be interconnected by the end of the year.
— Solar Builder magazine
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