SunPower designed and built the system, and financed the system with Wells Fargo through the $100m sale leaseback program revealed by the companies in June of 2009.
Brenda Dennstedt, chairperson of Authority, said: “Solar power systems help public agencies reduce costs and benefit the community by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
“This system will generate the equivalent of about 25% of the power needed to run the wastewater treatment plant, which is also about the same amount of power that would supply roughly 200 homes each year.”
Under the financing program used for the project, SunPower enters into power purchase agreements with qualified customers, and Wells Fargo finances and owns the system that SunPower designs, builds, operates, and maintains.
The Authority is buying the electricity at prices that are benefiting from a long-term hedge against rising power prices.
On the 9-acre site, SunPower’s solar panels were installed with the SunPower T20 Tracker system. The Tracker follows the sun’s movement during the day, increasing sunlight capture by up to 30% over conventional fixed-tilt systems, while reducing land use requirements, the company said.
Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower, said: “SunPower offers high performance solar technology and financing expertise that helps customers maximize savings on their electricity expenditures. Based on our experience delivering systems and service to more than 20 water agencies in the Western US, the Authority can count on the reliability and performance of this SunPower system.”