Solar panels springing up everywhere as City of Lemoore hopes to reap benefits

Saturday, May 24, 2014 - 11:17am By Ed Martin, The Leader Editor

These solar panels will go online sometime in July.

City residents may have something to cheer city hall about. Solar panels are springing up throughout the city, and currently workers are putting the finishing touches on a series of panels located atop car ports at the Cinnamon Municipal Complex. When turned on sometime in July, they will begin saving the city money in reduced energy costs.

It took a lot of discussion, but city officials last year approve a $12.89 million project to place solar panels at a number of well sites and the waste water treatment plant, as well as in the parking lot at the Municipal Complex where city offices are kept and the Lemoore Recreation Department is housed.

Chevron Energy Solutions, which has spearheaded the project, reported during earlier meetings that the solar panels will result in lower energy costs and save the city and its taxpayers millions over the long haul, which in this case is about 30 years.

All told the city expects to net $46 million over the course of the 30 year life span of the project.

The new panels will cost $12.89 million and will be paid for over the course of 30 years, the funds to come from the water, sewer and general funds. The water fund will pay the bulk of the project to the tune of about $9.9 million, while the sewer fund will contribute $2.5 million and the general fund $635,000.

City staff and Chevron are estimating that the city could save approximately $300,000 per year after paying for all financing costs for the first 15 years of the project, and then save between $1.5 million and $2.9 million per year thereafter.

The average life span of solar panels is between 30 and fifty years. All savings will come from reduced energy costs, thanks to the solar panels.

Chevron Energy Solutions has a history with the city. It put together a $3.9 million integrated energy and water conservation project in 2009, part of which included solar panels on part of the Cinnamon Municipal Project and a solar covered parking area at the Lemoore Police Department. Since then, city officials and Chevron state that the project is generating 10 percent more energy than estimated in 2009.

When it was all said and done the price tag on the entire project with costs of financing and construction period financing is $13,107,155. Of that figure, about $9.9 million will come out of the water fund, $635,000 from the general fund and $2.5 million from the sewer fund.