EL MIRAGE—(March 10) A 1.16 megawatt expandable solar project being built by the Phelan Pinon Hills Community Service District will save the district $13.9 million in electricity costs over the next 30 years, district officials say.
The facility is being constructed on the former Meadowbrook Dairy in the 17900 block of Sheep Creek Road in El Mirage. Upon its June completion, the plant will supply 40 percent of the electricity used by the district. The lion’s share of the district’s power use is to run pumps for wells and booster stations that provide and deliver water to 6,800 homes.
SunPower Corporation is building the facility.
In fiscal year 2013-14 ending last June 30, the district laid out $821,431 in payments to Southern California Edison. That expense represented 17 percent of the community service district’s water operations budget, according to the district.
The $13.9 million in savings over the expected life of the solar plant will more than offset the $4.7 million the plant will cost to complete and the loan financing needed to undertake it. The district received major subsidizations on the project, using Southern California Edison’s local-government Renewable Energy Self-Generation Bill Credit Transfer program.