PV developer SolarCity has installed a total of 1.5MW of PV capacity at two water treatment plants in Sacramento, California.
One solar array has been installed at the E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant whilst the other system has been constructed at the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant.
SolarCity financed and installed the customised ground-mounted systems. During the design phase, the company had to consider the water tank weight constraints. SolarCity will also maintain the systems at no cost to the city of Sacramento which is purchasing the electricity generated by the arrays at a lower rate than current utility rates. The two systems will generate an estimated 2.2 million kWh of electricity annually.
City officials can track the two installations’ energy production and consumption with SolarCity’s proprietary PowerGuide monitoring service, which is fully integrated with the city’s own centralised monitoring system.
