Pacific Ethanol to install solar power at Madera plant

MADERA

September 26, 2016 5:02am

•  Will generate 5 Megawatts; save more than $1 Million a year

•  “We are proud to build the first-ever commercial solar electricity system at a U.S. ethanol plant”

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) of Sacramento says it is installing a 5 megawatt solar photovoltaic power system at its plant in Madera.

The solar system is designed and built by Borrego Solar Systems.

“The integration of solar power at our Madera plant underscores our commitment to optimize our plant assets, lower the carbon intensity of our ethanol and reduce our operating costs,” says Neil Koehler, the company’s president and CEO. “We are proud to build the first-ever commercial solar electricity system at a U.S. ethanol plant. Pending the completion of interconnection agreements with our local utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., we expect to begin operating the solar PV system at full capacity in early 2018.”

Through the displacement of more than 30 percent of the grid electricity currently used, the solar PV system is expected to reduce the Madera facility’s annual utility costs by more than $1 million as well as drive premium pricing on the ethanol produced due to improvements in its carbon-intensity score, Pacific Ethanol says.

The system also qualifies for the Energy Investment Tax Credit, further improving its attractive investment profile.

“This will be one of the largest single-site net metered projects in PG&E territory,” says Chris Otness, Borrego Solar project developer.

He says that in the past such large industrial projects were limited to a single megawatt, but the California Public Utilities Commission has put new regulations in place letting large energy users to go above that threshold and offset a significantly larger portion of their overall usage.

Pacific Ethanol financed $10 million of the expected $11 million total investment through the CleanFund SolarPACE program for a term of 20 years, which enables immediate net cost savings and positive cash flow from the project.

“The demand for commercial PACE financing continues to grow rapidly because it represents a large-scale opportunity to provide cost-effective, long-term financing for renewable energy, energy efficiency and water conservation measures for most non-residential properties,” says Greg Saunders, chief executive officer of CleanFund.

http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=31301