Hanford sewer plant to go solar

Hanford’s wastewater treatment plant — one of the most energy-intensive services for the city — is going solar.

On Tuesday, the Hanford City Council gave the staff the green light to move forward with the concept and draft a formal plan to partner with Chevron Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Chevron USA, to turn that concept into reality.

Officials say the upgrade will allow the plant to get 60 percent of its power from the sun and will save at least $3.8 million over 20 years.

Doing the project now will help protect the city from rising utility costs in the future, said John Doyel, city deputy public works director.

“It’s the first large-scale city solar project in Hanford. We’re always trying to be conscious of energy conservation and saving money,” Doyel told the City Council. “It really reduces impacts of future electric cost increases. The anticipation with the requirements for utilities to move to renewable energy sources is that rates will rise over time. This will protect you from that.”

Because solar will offset the highest peak usage at the wastewater treatment plant in the middle of the day, the project leads to cost savings over time, Doyel said.

Hanford’s project is not a new concept in the growing world of renewable energy.

With California’s solar initiative rebate funds fast running out, municipalities across the state, including Lemoore and Kings County, are rushing to take on similar projects. Hanford is getting $1.69 million in state incentive funds over the next five years.

A new solar system is under construction at Dinuba’s wastewater treatment plant through a partnership with Chevron Energy Solutions. Parlier is working with Enfinity and Conergy to install solar panels at its plant.

Running a wastewater treatment plant is not cheap. Doyel said it costs the city about $500,000 a year in utilities to operate the plant.

The proposed 1-megawatt solar facility on a 6-acre site on Houston Avenue would supply 60 percent of the Hanford plant’s power need, representing a saving of about $300,000 a year.

The city received proposals from three vendors, including Chevron, Enfinity and SPG. After doing a 20-year cost savings analysis and considering experiences, Chevron came out as the best choice as a partner, Doyel said. The company has worked on Lemoore’s solar project. It is also developing a solar parking shade structure at the county government center.