(Source: The Fresno Bee)
By Eddie Jimenez, The Fresno Bee, Calif.
Jul. 2--A solar energy farm that will provide electricity for Dinuba's waste-water treatment plant and save the city about $250,000 annually is in the works.
Chevron Energy Solutions will design, build and maintain the solar farm on a former city landfill next to the waste-water treatment plant on the town's west side.
Chevron Energy, a division of the Chevron oil company, built the solar energy farm atop parking-lot shade structures at California State University, Fresno.
The cost of the Dinuba project will be about $6.5 million, City Manager Ed Todd said.
He said options for using the 7-acre site were limited, so the solar farm is good for city land use.
The average $250,000 annual savings over the 20-year partnership will cover about two-thirds of the waste-water treatment plant's electricity cost each year, Todd said.
The Dinuba City Council approved the project in early June. A lease agreement is expected to go before the council July 14.
Chevron Energy hopes to have the farm completed by the end of the year, said spokeswoman Juliet Don.
The city will lease the property to a third-party owner of the plant. That owner will most likely be a group of investors, Don said.
In addition to the annual energy savings, the partnership will enable the city to lock in its rates for 20 years with Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which still will be the power provider, Dinuba officials said.
The project will help PG&E fulfill a state mandate for utility companies to move toward more renewable energy sources, said Dean Uota, Dinuba city engineer.
Chevron Energy Solutions also built a small-scale solar energy farm atop vehicle canopies in Lemoore last year, Don said.
The reporter can be reached at ejimenez@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2420.
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