Ameresco completes 5.3-MW solar array for San Joaquin County –

Ameresco, Inc. announced that it has completed construction on a 5.3-megawatt (MW) dc ground-mount solar energy system at San Joaquin County’s Foothill Landfill. This is Ameresco’s second renewable energy project with the County and will help reduce their utility costs through California’s Renewable Energy Self-Generation Bill Credit Transfer (RES-BCT) program.

San Joaquin County partnered with Ameresco to develop, own and operate a ground-mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system at the Foothill Landfill in Linden, California. Funded by a power purchase agreement (PPA), Ameresco installed 13,770 solar modules rated at 385W-DC each, as well as 29 solar inverters rated at 125kW-AC each. Under a separate agreement with San Joaquin County, Ameresco constructed a 4.3-MW landfill gas to energy plant at the same landfill in 2014.

According to Ameresco, the system will generate approximately 10,473,000 kWh of electricity in year one, equating to a reduction of 7,405 tons of CO₂ emissions. In addition to the electrical savings, the County will also receive a $500,000 upfront lease payment for the use of the land, infusing revenue into the County from day one.

San Joaquin County Supervisor, Chuck Winn, commented, “The County recognized that the Foothill Landfill site in Linden had a large amount of undeveloped land. Thanks to a previous project implemented at the site in partnership with Ameresco, we knew there was a similar opportunity to do something productive with the site. When Ameresco approached us about the potential use of the undeveloped land for solar arrays, it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”

Construction of the San Joaquin County solar project was recently completed.