Onsite solar facilities avoid approximately 4,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually
PVTIME – December 14, Luminace, the North American decarbonization-as-a-service business of Brookfield Renewable, and the County of San Diego, announced the completion of a 6.7-megawatt portfolio of distributed generation solar projects that are now supplying clean, renewable energy to municipal facilities. The solar projects, developed and owned by Luminace, are helping to advance the county’s sustainable energy goals while reinforcing Luminace’s position as a leading sponsor of renewable energy infrastructure for the public sector market in California and across the U.S.
“These solar projects demonstrate Luminace’s exceptional turnkey decarbonization solutions, providing accessible, reliable, and renewable energy, with no upfront costs to the customer,” said Valerie Hannah, CEO of Luminace. “Luminace is pleased to build on its history of serving public sector institutions like the County of San Diego, drawing from our deep developmental and operational capabilities and our strong balance sheet.”
Under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Luminace, six municipal facilities are sourcing a projected 10.3 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually from Luminace’s best-in-class, on-site solar projects, meeting about half of the aggregate electricity consumption for the combined sites. The projects provide enough clean energy to avoid the release of approximately 4,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equal to removing more than 1,000 passenger vehicles from the road annually.*
Luminace’s solar projects required no upfront capital from the County of San Diego. The projects supply power to the East Mesa Detention Center, North County Regional Center, Rancho San Diego Sheriff Substation, Borrego Springs Library, Edgemoor Hospital, and Rancho San Diego Library.
“Our partnership with Luminace has been instrumental to our efforts to cut our carbon footprint while being vigilant stewards of the taxpayers’ interests,” said County of San Diego Sustainability Chief Charley Marchesano.
For many years, the County of San Diego has been a regional leader in sustainability. Current efforts include building new facilities to be zero net energy, retro-commissioning existing buildings, continually increasing its 12.86-megawatt inventory of onsite renewables, electrifying its vehicle fleet, and converting its grid electricity to 100 percent renewable sources by 2030. To date, these efforts have resulted in a 43 percent reduction in operational greenhouse gas emissions since 2010.
Luminace has established itself as a leading owner, operator and developer of renewable energy infrastructure for the public sector, including educational, municipal, public agency, and healthcare customers. The commissioning of the projects for the County of San Diego boosts Luminace’s portfolio of distributed generation solar facilities in Southern California to nearly 140 megawatts across more than 350 sites.
