News & Press

Water authority adds solar panels to defray costs

San Diego Union Tribune

August 29, 2011

The San Diego County Water Authority has flipped the switch on for three new solar electricity systems.

The area's wholesale supplier of water expects to save $1.7 million over 20 years from generation by thousands of recently installed solar panels at its Kearny Mesa headquarters, an operations center in Escondido and the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant north of San Marcos.

The 7,500 solar panels were installed under a 20-year power purchase agreement with San Diego-based Borrego Solar Systems.

Under the agreement, Borrego Solar covers capital costs and the water authority purchases power from Borrego's financial arm, Greenlake Capital, the authority said in a statement. The water authority has the option to buy the systems after seven years.

Some of the bigger solar installations across San Diego County are being contracted with water utilities, which often have the right kind of space, financial support and sustained electricity needs to support solar energy.

The county water authority estimates the new solar power system will cover 60 percent of demand at its Kearny Mesa facility, 55 percent at Escondido and 25 percent at the Twin Oaks treatment plant.

The San Diego County Water Authority supplies water from the Colorado River and Northern California, working with 24 member agencies.

It has been providing local power to the grid since December 2006 at its Rancho Peñasquitos hydro generation facility.

The water authority is in the process of building a pumped storage project at Lake Hodges to generate hydroelectric power during peak demand hours using water flowing down from the Olivenhain Reservoir.

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