County of Ventura Approves Agreement to Purchase Solar-Generated Electricity
April 21, 2017
VENTURA, Calif. – On April 18, 2017, the County of Ventura Board of Supervisors approved a groundbreaking Energy Services Agreement between the County and Ventura Solar, LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Cenergy Power). The agreement, which will be administered by the General Services Agency (GSA), will enable the County to purchase electricity generated from a planned 3-megawatt photovoltaic system to be installed in the unincorporated area of Fillmore. The Ventura Fillmore Solar Project will be located on the former Texaco Refinery/Pacific Coast Pipeline site (Fillmore Works).
Ventura Solar (Cenergy Power) will engineer, construct, operate, and maintain the 3-megawatt project on behalf of the County. Construction is expected to begin in the fall, with an anticipated date of completion in spring 2018.
The system will be designed to produce approximately 6.5 million kilowatt hours in the first full year of production – clean energy that will result in a decrease of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1,808 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, an approximately 4.5 percent reduction from the County’s GHG emissions inventory for calendar year 2015.
The 3MW of clean, renewable energy will use approximately 11,400 photo-voltaic, non-reflective solar panels that will convert sunlight into electricity, which will be connected directly into the Southern California Edison utility grid. The County will pay a fixed rate for all power produced by the Ventura Solar system for the life of the Energy Services Agreement. Southern California Edison will in turn provide credits to the County for the power generated at the site, and these credits will be applied to designated benefiting accounts. GSA anticipates annual credits with a value of $72,000 above the County’s normal costs in the first year.
In addition, GSA – via a Site Operating Agreement – is responsible for operation and maintenance of the energy system facility, including a small visitor area that will provide information on the project and site to the public. The visitor area is planned to consist of a small parking lot, lighting, two electric vehicle charging stations, and a small information kiosk.
The term for both the Energy Services Agreement and the Site Operating Agreement is 25 years from the date the system becomes operational.
“Once the new facility is operational, nearly one-third of all the power used by GSA-managed County facilities will be powered through renewable solar energy,” said David J. Sasek, General Services Agency Director. “This partnership with Ventura Solar represents a dedicated and continued effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and by association, the County’s carbon footprint.”
For more information, please contact the General Services Agency at (805) 654-3800.
Media Contact: David J. Sasek, (805) 654-3800