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San Buenaventura officials, project partner mark completion of city solar array
Summary
City of San Buenaventura officials and project representatives marked the completion of a solar array at the community park and aquatic center that city officials said will supply nearly all the park's energy and about half of the police and fire headquarters' needs, cut roughly 800 tons of CO2 a year and save about $2.3 million.
City of San Buenaventura officials and project representatives celebrated the completion of a large solar array at the community park and aquatic center, saying the installation will provide nearly all the park's electricity and about half of the power used at the city's police and fire headquarters at 1425 Dowell.
"The city of Ventura, we are proud to be a coastal town…taking care of our climate and taking care of it," a City official said, framing the project as part of the city's environmental commitments.
Officials said the array will supply almost 100% of energy needs at the community park and about 50% of demand at the police and fire headquarters. "It will benefit by saving energy, heating our buildings here from the sun that will generate the electricity," a City official said, adding the project is "also going to save approximately $2,300,000 that we can use for other projects." The $2.3 million figure was presented as an approximate savings.
Speakers described the city’s work with a private partner, Forefront Power, which officials said allowed the projects to proceed quickly and with a reduced burden on city staff. "Our partnership with Forefront Power was definitely instrumental to this," a City official said.
A presenter described the project's power-purchase agreement (PPA) model: the partner secures an initial price per kilowatt hour that officials said is below the utility price on day one, covers the upfront cost of the systems, pays for operations and maintenance and insurance, and remains a partner for 20 years to ensure savings are delivered. "We pay for all the upfront cost of the systems, the operations and maintenance, the insurance, and then we're their partner for 20 years to ensure that the system is delivering savings to the city," the presenter said.
Officials also quantified a projected emissions benefit, stating the project will prevent about 800 tons of CO2 emissions annually — an equivalence the speaker described as roughly equal to 800,000 pounds of coal burned per year — and tied the investment to the city's climate action and resiliency plan.
City officials said the project required no upfront payment by the city under the PPA arrangement and that the installation was intended to support municipal goals for renewable energy on city-owned facilities. There was no formal vote or ordinance recorded in the remarks; speakers described the event as a ribbon-cutting and an operational milestone for the city's sustainability efforts.
