Jan 11 2010
A 1-megawatt solar power system was dedicated by Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (Authority), Wells Fargo and SunPower at the West Riverside Wastewater Treatment Plant in Corona. This high-efficiency system has been designed and built by SunPower. SunPower and Wells Fargo financed the system through a $100 million sale leaseback program that was announced by the companies in June 2009.
Brenda Dennstedt, Chairperson of the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority, remarked that the solar power system will be an advantage to the community as it will lead to reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases and it will also enable the public agencies to bring down its costs. This 1-megawatt solar power system will generate 25 percent of the power that is required for the operation of the wastewater treatment plant or enough electricity to power about 200 houses each year.
According to the project’s financing program, SunPower enters into a power purchase agreements with certified customers and Wells Fargo owns and finances the system that is designed, built, operated and maintained by SunPower. Electricity is being bought by the Authority at competitive prices thus gaining benefits from a long-term hedge against increasing power prices. The environmental claims linked with this solar power system are not used by the Authority.
SunPower’s solar panels, considered as the highly efficient solar panels in the current market, were installed with the SunPower T20 Tracker system on the 9-acre site. The movement of the sun during the day is followed by the Tracker and this increases sunlight capture by up to 30 percent in comparison to the conventional fixed-tilt systems and at the same time reducing the landing use requirements.
Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower, remarked that the financing expertise and the high performance solar technology offered by SunPower enable customers to increase their savings on their electricity expenditures. He further stated that the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority can depend on the 1-megawatt solar power system’s performance and reliability based on the company’s service to over 20 water agencies.
Source: http://us.sunpowercorp.com/