Total Energies and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) dedicated the Orinda Photovoltaic Solar Energy Project (Orinda PV) in Oakland, California.
Orinda PV is EBMUD’s largest solar facility, designed, built, owned and operated by TotalEnergies. The 4.6 MW project will provide the non-profit water utility with approximately 10 million kWh of clean solar energy per year under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), significantly offsetting EBMUD’s greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating its progress utility in the field of sustainability is promoted. target of carbon neutrality by 2030.
“The Orinda PV project represents a leap in EBMUD’s clean energy production and supports our mission to provide safe and affordable drinking water while protecting the environment,” said EBMUD General Manager Clifford Chan. “We believe that investing in a sustainable future is the right thing to do for our customers and our planet, not just for today but for generations to come.”
Orinda PV contains more than 12,000 high-efficiency panels, mounted on single-axis trackers, that maximize energy production on the 12-hectare site. The site’s landscaping includes vegetative screening that minimizes visibility of the PV system from nearby nature trails and the Briones Reservoir, a popular recreation area.
“We applaud EBMUD for investing in clean energy to pursue impressive carbon neutrality goals,” said Eric Potts, VP of TotalEnergies Renewables USA. “As a top solar developer in the U.S. and globally, we help utilities like EBMUD leverage solar energy to achieve their sustainability goals and reduce their long-term energy costs.”
The Orinda PV project is expected to offset 10% of EBMUD’s current energy costs. The PV system will be connected to the local electric grid under PG&E’s Renewable Energy Self-Generation Bill Credit Transfer (RES-BCT) program, which allows the electricity generated by the project to offset the energy consumed by up to 50 of the EBMUD electricity bills with PG&E. The project’s location adjacent to PG&E’s Sobrante substation reduces the costs and impacts of interconnecting with the electric grid.
EBMUD is a nonprofit government agency headquartered in Oakland that provides high-quality drinking water to more than 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The agency also operates a wastewater system that serves 740,000 customers and helps protect the San Francisco Bay ecosystem.
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