![Sample our Engineering & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5933/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Engineering-Tech.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
In early 2004, Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, which serves residents of Northern Marin District, completed the installation of an 81-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power system that provides electricity for its reclamation pump station.
After completing a competitive proposal process, the District contracted with EI Solutions (formerly Prevalent Power, Inc.), a solar power systems integrator, to engineer, finance and install the PV system. The system was designed to zero the building's electricity bills and eliminate harmful emissions, initially saving the District around $22,000 per year.
The system purchase was financed in part with funds from California's rebate program; construction financing was provided by EI Solutions and its suppliers. Over its lifetime the system will generate $900,000 in direct energy cost savings. The system is expected to pay for itself in about 11 years, and will then provide another 20 years or so of “free” power to the District.
This case study provides an inside look at the PV engineering process, presents a set of best practices in PV system design and installation, and examines the economic and environmental rationale for purchasing the system.