District solar update: arrays resized, batteries added; installations expected by year-end

District staff and the solar contractor updated the board on Phase 2 of the district solar program. The presenter said no panels have been installed yet and described the engineering and permitting steps required before installation. He reported the Los Ninos array had been reduced from 293 kilowatts to 255 kilowatts during engineering and that a battery system was added to reduce demand charges.

The contractor outlined site-specific plans: Sierra Vista will receive a roughly 100-kilowatt ground-mount array intended to offset about 40–50% of load; the early childhood center has a cleared structural review for a 50-kilowatt standing seam roof system; Mike Mateo is a 36-kilowatt system with its interconnection application submitted and likely to be installed first; the Administration Building was removed from the current scope because a ballasted (non-penetrating) system would exceed structural weight limits. The presenter said Marjem's system is now 178 kilowatts paired with a 240 kilowatt-hour battery and clarified the battery is intended for short-duration peak shaving rather than multi-day backup: "It's really like a 4 hour battery that will help us through the peak demand times."

The contractor said applications are moving into permitting and estimated installations to begin within a month or two at certain sites, with the remainder completing by the end of the year. The update included specific design, electrical and permitting steps and stressed that reduced system sizing and added batteries were chosen to improve economics and demand-charge mitigation.