1MW solar power plant opens in Corona, California

January 8, 2010

A new 1MW solar power plant has opened at the West Riverside Wastewater Treatment Plant in Corona, California, designed and built by SunPower Corporation.

The nine-acre facility will be operated and maintained by SunPower, which will also sell power to the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority.

The solar facility is owned by Wells Fargo, which financed the project through a $100 million sale leaseback program.

The solar plant should provide about 25% of the electricity needed by the Corona treatment plant, whih processes eight million gallons a day.

The Authority is paying for its power at a price described as “competitive with retail rates”. However, the solar power purchase agreement will protect the Authority from any future electricity price rises.

“Solar power systems help public agencies reduce costs and benefit the community by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere,” explained the Authority’s chairperson, Brenda Dennstedt, who is on the board of directors at Western Municipal Water District, an Authority partner.

“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,” Ms Dennstedt explained.

Tracker system

The Corona solar plant is using the SunPower T20 Tracker system of solar panels, which follow the sun’s movement during the day to increase sunlight capture by up to 30% compared to fixed-tilt systems.

Tom Werner, CEO of San Jose-based 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 U.S., the Authority can count on the reliability and performance of this SunPower system,” said Mr Werner.