The City of Patterson, Calif., has entered into an agreement with Chevron Energy Solutions, which will include solar installations and energy efficiency programs such as replacing streetlights with LED fixtures.
Chevron Energy Solutions will install solar panels to generate power for the city’s sewage treatment plants, corporation yard, and senior and aquatic centers. It is anticipated the solar installations will provide over 90 percent of the facilities’ energy requirements. Changing streetlights to more efficient LED fixtures is also expected to save over $200,000 per year in electricity expense.
In addition, the city and Chevron Energy Solutions have engaged WattzOn, a community-based energy-efficiency non-profit, to help residents and business owners identify free and low-cost ways to reduce their energy use through free energy audits. The collaboration, to be called The Capacity Project, will also build workforce capacity in cleantech and energy by training and hiring Patterson high school students as energy auditors, being paid $14/hour.
In other news, Washington Gas Energy Systems has signed a contract with the town of Bellingham, Mass., to build, own and operate a 3,802-kW solar array to provide an expected annual output of 4,800 MWh renewable energy for the town. The ground-mounted installation will consist of 12,672 panels. Washington Gas Energy Systems will own and operate the solar facility under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project was developed by NextSun Energy and will be engineered and constructed by Gehrlicher Solar. Construction of the project began in March 2013 and will be complete in late June 2013.