In a place where the sun shines almost 90% of the year, solar energy was an obvious choice when the Yucca Valley council started to investigate ways to reduce its electricity bill.
Working with Fortune 500 company Emcor’s energy services division, the Yucca Valley council applied for a range of energy utility and federal government renewable energy incentives and rebates.
This let the council install a 56.7 kilowatt solar array on the roof of a building in its community centre that serves as the Town Hall and library.
The total value of the project was estimated at $US425,000, including the cost of replacing the building’s deteriorating roof. The 56.7kW PV system comprises 324 SCHOTT Solar modules, clamped onto the roof to avoid penetrating the new surface.
The Yucca Valley council said it cost $US78,000 a year to supply electricity to its civic centre – incorporating all electrical costs for the Town Hall, library, community centre and museum.
The council was able to secure a $US245,000 grant from the Department of Energy and a further $US137,000 grant from the pro-solar energy state government, through the Southern California Edison solar generation incentive grant.
Yucca Valley was required to provide some matching funds. It secured these through $20,000 of municipal funds and a low-interest $US123,000 loan from the California Energy Commission.
“The timing was great and the cooperation of other agencies really lined up for us on this investment,” said Yucca Valley mayor Chad Mayes.
Mayes said that as a municipality purchase, Yucca Valley’s investment in solar energy could be made with a long-term perspective.
“On top of saving the town money on our energy bills in the near-term, in the long term, our PV system will pay for itself and all of the energy produced by it will be free,” Mayes said.
The council estimates that the solar PV array will reduce the civic centre’s electrical bill by about 33%, while the loan repayments have been set at $US10,000 a year, making it possible for Yucca Valley to realise an immediate operating gain of up to $US3000 annually.
“On the whole, the project worked out rather well,” said the mayor.
