SUN-POWERED WATER RECYCLING

City of San Diego and SunEdison Celebrates the Activation of the 945kW Solar Power Plant at the Otay Mesa Water Treatment Facility; Part of the Mayor's goal to deploy 5MW of Solar Capacity for the City
April 6, 2010 (Business Wire via MarketPlace)

"…SunEdison, North America's largest solar energy services provider and a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials celebrated…the activation of the 945kW solar power plant at San Diego's Otay Mesa water treatment facility.

"The solar power deployment at the Otay Mesa water treatment facility was made possible through a Solar Power Service Agreement (SPSA) between the City of San Diego and SunEdison that required no upfront costs from the city. The city will purchase the energy produced by the solar power system for 20 years to offset their demand from the utility grid."

The 945 kilowatt Otay Mesa solar-powered water recycling plant. (click to enlarge)

"The Otay Mesa solar power plant will generate over 1.5 million kWh of energy in the first year of operation and will produce over 27 million kWh over 20 years. That is enough energy to power more than 2,600 average U.S. homes for one year. The environmental attributes associated with the system will offset over 29 million pounds of carbon dioxide, over the initial 20 years of operation -- the equivalent of taking 2,800 cars off the road."

The 1.1 megawatt Alvarado solar-powered water recycling plant. (click to enlarge)

"This activation marks the second solar power deployment for the City of San Diego by SunEdison and is part of the city's plan to deploy 5MW of solar capacity. SunEdison has already installed and operates a 1.1 MW solar facility at the city's Alvarado water treatment plant which was activated in 2007…

"This [Otay Mesa] site shows SunEdison's continued commitment to provide cities across the country with solar solutions that require no upfront costs, create green jobs, and stimulate local economies…"