More than 8,000 solar panels are ready to help power a wastewater reclamation facility in Gilbert, Arizona.
The 2.3 megawatt solar farm at the Neely Wastewater Reclamation Facility will generate more than 4 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity each year – enough energy to provide for the needs of over 430 average American households.
The solar panel arrays are installed over recharge basins at the plant.
Owned by an arm of Integrys Energy Services, Inc., the system will save the township of Gilbert an estimated USD $2 million over the next two decades and contribute 40% of the reclamation plant’s electricity requirements.
The $10 million solar power system was funded through a solar power purchase agreement arranged by SPG Solar, structured so the municipality paid no upfront capital costs for the solar farm. Incentives for the system are being provided by Arizona’s largest utility company, Arizona Public Services (APS).
SPG Solar has 68 megawatts installed solar capacity in the USA and was last year named in Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies in America. SPG Solar is also the developer of “Floatovoltaics” – aquatic solar farms.
APS serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties. APS says if just 15% of its customers chose electricity sourced from renewables such as wind and solar power, that would achieve an emissions reduction of around 2.7 million tons a year. The company’s renewable energy portfolio has expanded rapidly, growing from less than one megawatt in 2001 to more than 245 megawatts currently..
Integrys Energy Services is a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group, a $9.8 billion Fortune 500 company.
Located in the southeast valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Gilbert is the 7th largest community in Arizona and has a resident base of 220,000.
