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The City of Fresno recently celebrated the completion of several solar power and energy storage projects, which could save taxpayers over $122 million by 2045. The project developer is ForeFront Power. Fresno has about 300 days of sunshine per year and sunlight is a free source of clean, renewable energy. For a little additional context, Fresno has over 540,000 people.
Here at CleanTechnica, we have reported about many large or very large solar and energy storage projects. This pairing, or wind power and energy storage, is the present and future solution because it solves the “intermittency” problem. At some point, there won’t be one because energy storage, including long-duration energy storage, is so widely available, cost-effective, and in use. In some cases, as we see here, it is already present and active.
Erinne Davis, Senior Project Manager at ForeFront Power, answered some questions about the new solar and energy storage installation for CleanTechnica.
What is the solar power capacity for the whole portfolio?
The entire City of Fresno DPU solar energy and battery storage portfolio is 27 megawatt-DC (MW-DC).
What is the energy storage capacity?
The Fresno DPU solar and storage portfolio contains a total of 4.3 MW-AC of battery storage.
What is the battery chemistry for the batteries?
They are lithium-ion Tesla batteries at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility system, and Sungrow batteries at the Northeast and Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility systems.
Will the batteries only store electricity from solar power?
Yes, the batteries are dedicated to storing electricity from the solar energy systems. The batteries’ function is to perform “peak shaving” — to discharge energy during periods of peak demand from the facility in order to stay out of the highest/most expensive pricing tiers of buying power from the grid.
What is the solar power capacity and energy storage capacity at each site?
The Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility system contains 17.3 MW-DC of solar capacity and 2.3 MW-AC/4 MWh of battery storage.
The Northeast Surface Water Treatment Facility system contains 1.7 MW-DC of solar capacity and 1 MW-AC/2 MWh of battery storage.
The Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility system contains 3.8 MW-DC of solar capacity and 1 MW-AC/2 MWh of battery storage.
How many homes can be powered by the whole solar power portfolio?
Combined, the DPU projects will generate 46,992,352 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year, which is enough to power the annual electricity use of 8,173 homes.
How much estimated savings will there be for the whole portfolio over the upcoming decades?
At a time of rising electricity costs, these DPU projects are projected to save the City over $122 million in taxpayer dollars by 2045.
Who will benefit from the savings?
Developing distributed renewable energy solutions like this solar and storage portfolio means that Fresno is less dependent on expensive and high-polluting fossil fuel power plants to meet electrical demand. That translates to lower energy costs for the City, lower electricity bills for ratepayers, and cleaner air for City of Fresno residents.
By integrating solar power and energy storage, DPU facilities decrease their reliance on costly grid electricity, leading to lower energy bills. These savings will be passed on to ratepayers, while also reducing the facility’s carbon footprint and enhancing its energy resilience.
How many jobs were created during the installation process?
The DPU’s “behind-the-meter” portfolio was constructed by local union labor from the IBEW Local 100, creating 120 local jobs in the process.
What was the cost of the portfolio?
The City of Fresno procured its solar energy projects with no upfront costs by leveraging the Renewable Energy Aggregated Procurement (“REAP”) Program. The REAP Program is managed by SPURR, a joint powers authority dedicated to helping the California public sector control and reduce utility expenses.
REAP provides public sector buyers with pre-negotiated contracts, industry-leading pricing, and standardized terms. Through REAP’s integrated RFP process and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), The City of Fresno selected ForeFront Power to develop, finance, and construct its solar and energy storage portfolio.
Under the terms of the PPA, ForeFront Power develops, owns, and maintains the solar energy portfolio and charges the City a fixed, below-market rate for electricity, which is locked in for the 20-year duration of the agreement. The PPA structure enabled the City to develop its project at no upfront cost and without using bond funds.
In return, the City achieves a low, fixed rate for electricity as well as budget certainty by avoiding utility rate increases for decades to come. Meanwhile, ForeFront Power will continue to operate and maintain the system for the life of the project, ensuring production and cost savings are delivered.
How much CO2 will be avoided by using the solar and energy storage?
The DPU’s combined solar and storage portfolio will not only conserve taxpayer dollars but also helps the City of Fresno avoid over 26,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year, which is equivalent to the GHG emissions from over 6,000 gas-powered passenger vehicles annually. That means less air pollution and cleaner air for city residents.
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