KINGSBURG - On November 8th, Selma-Kingsburg-Fowler County Sanitation District (SKFCSD) celebrated a major milestone in the implementation of its new energy program with two ENGIE North America companies, Op Terra Energy Services and Green Charge. During a groundbreaking event on Wednesday, District stakeholders, project engineers and contractors, and local elected officials commemorated the beginning of the clean energy generation and storage program that will help power treatment facilities across all 550 acres of S-K-F CSD service territory. As a result of the integrated solar, battery storage, and other conservation technology upgrades across the District, S-K-F CSD will save $14.7 million in energy and maintenance costs over the span of the program.
Maintaining Excellent Service, Integrating Energy Technology
Selma-Kingsburg-Fowler County Sanitation District provides collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater for nearly 43,000 Fresno County residents – managing nearly 11,300 residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial treatment connections. With so many customers relying on S-K-F CSD, it was essential to create a "living" energy program plan that would hedge against rising energy costs and be able to adapt to ongoing community growth.
More than 2.4 megawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) will be installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, along with a solar parking structure at the Administration Building. A 500 kW/1,000 kWh energy storage battery system and other key energy efficiency measures such as HVAC unit replacements and LED lighting retrofits will supplement the solar implementation. By installing the solar system under Net Energy Metering (NEM), the District will receive full compensation from Pacific Gas & Electric for all the electricity generated by the solar projects at any time. With the new battery storage technology, S-K-F CSD will avoid paying peak demand charges from the utility by flattening its load. OpTerra is also working with S-K-F CSD to design the system to accommodate future plant expansion.
Future Benefits
With the multi-tiered solutions underway, S-K-F CSD is looking forward to delivering positive economic, environmental, and community impacts for its customers in the Fresno area. Expected, future benefits include:
- Saving $14.7 million in energy costs over the life of the 20-year program
- Reducing District electricity spend by 70%
- Creating the equivalent of 244 jobs resulting from the economic multiplier effect
- Reducing carbon emissions equivalent to removing 700 cars from the road, annually
As Chairman of the District, David Cárdenas, shared, "Our District is excited to implement a program that will not only save us $14.7 million in energy costs, but also allow us to demonstrate the positive fiscal and environmental impact of leading-edge solar and energy storage solutions to our customers across Fresno and to other public agencies statewide."
The program is currently in the construction phase and is expected to be completed by summer 2018.