LAKE COUNTY ?-Solar power is expected to be online and undergoing testing by the end of the calendar year for three of the county”s facilities, including two sewer treatment plants that serve a combined 25,000 residents, according to Lake County Special Districts Director Mark Dellinger.
Solar arrays can be seen from the Lake County Animal Care and Control building on Helbush Drive as they are installed on the property west of the facility. Dellinger said the arrays closest to Animal Control will serve the Lake County Jail. It is one of five solar projects in the county that is nearing completion, he said. The county contracted in San Jose-based firm SunPower in September 2007 for four of the jobs, including two each at the Northwest Waste Water Treatment Plant and at the Southeast Waste Water Treatment Plant.
“The long-term vision is that it”s going to help us moderate costs. Under this power purchase agreement we have, we know that in the 20-year life of the project we will have fixed costs with a predictable inflation increase. Under a typical PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) agreement we”re subject to whatever increases are made, and those are volatile,” Dellinger said.
The county signed a contract agreeing to a 4-percent annual inflation rate, according to Lake County Deputy Administrative Officer Matt Perry. The Northwest Waste Water Treatment Plant serves approximately 10,000 customers in Paradise Valley, Nice, Lucerne, Upper Lake, North Lakeport and portions of Lakeport. The Southeast Waste Water treatment Plant serves approximately 15,000 customers in Clearlake and Lower Lake.
“Based on information we got a year ago when we were studying PG&E”s rates, for the past 36 years PG&E has raised its rates an average of 6 percent per year. Some years it skyrockets, and that makes it difficult to plan for budgeting purposes,” Perry said. Dellinger said SunPower fronted the cost of the construction, and will recoup its investment by selling the solar power to the county.
Dellinger said the projects will provide between 91 and 93 percent of the electricity needed at the jail and two sewer treatment plants. The jail project will prevent 840,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, he said, and the projects at the sewer plants will keep a combined annual estimate of 2.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air. Once the arrays are connected to the PG&E power grid, Dellinger said electrical testing will be needed to ensure everything is running properly. He said he expected the arrays will be physically connected to the grid in October.
Dellinger said the Novato-based firm SPG Solar is contracting with the Northern California Power Agency to provide 100 percent of the electrical needs of the pump that sends treated sewer water to the Geysers to be used to regenerate its steam fields. He said that project is expected to keep 800,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air per year.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
