100% Solar Powered Campus in Sonoma County California
Solar Powered Campus ( Solar Thermal Magazine ) – January, 2013 The County of Sonoma celebrated its latest clean-energy project with a public dedication of a new 708-Kilowatt (kW) solar system at the Los Guilicos campus on Friday, January 18, 2013. The 3-acre ground-mounted sun-tracking photovoltaic (PV) system, when coupled with the 750 kW system installed in March 2012, make Los Guilicos one of the first municipal Zero Net Electricity (ZNE) campuses in California. Home to the Juvenile Justice Center, the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home and the Sierra Youth Center, the Los Guilicos campus will meet 100 percent of its electricity needs with clean renewable power from its solar systems. Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chairman, David Rabbitt commented,
This event is a true milestone. We are committed to making our facilities living models of the clean energy future. Our new Solar Array reflects our County’s commitment to reducing cost and using renewable energy.
The Los Guilicos campus’ solar system was developed through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Petaluma, Calif.-based SPG Solar, Inc., a leading provider of commercial solar power products and services. SPG Solar will own and operate the system, selling the renewable generation to the County of Sonoma, generating an estimated $1.4 million in savings over the solar system’s 25-year lifespan. The system will also reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 324 metric tons CO2e. “The County of Sonoma is a true leader in the sustainable realm. We were able to help them go solar without any capital outlay by financing the project through a PPA,” said Doug May, CEO of SPG Solar.
Not only will they be saving well over a million dollars, they will also be reducing greenhouse emissions, providing green jobs, and delivering clean electricity for generations to come.
At the dedication, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chair, David Rabbitt, First District Supervisor Susan Gorin, General Services Director, Jose Obregon, and Mark Chamberlin, Project Manager from SPG Solar will provide brief presentations about the solar project and energy efficiency upgrades that made this facility a living model of energy innovation.
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