NEVADA CITY, Calif. June 20, 2017 – Tuesday, June 20th, Nevada County celebrated the solar power generation of two of the five solar sites that are part of the County’s Solar Generation and Energy Efficiency Program: the Eric Rood Administrative Center, and Wayne Brown Correctional Facility. The program is projected to save $7 million in energy costs over the next 20 years, which will increase to $1.3 million annually in year 21 and beyond. In addition to the program’s five solar sites that include over five thousand solar panels, the County also accomplished $1.7 million in deferred maintenance costs with the replacement of HVAC units, lighting, and energy efficient building controls at seventeen different County sites.
Nevada County received the 2017 Exemplary Renewables Award from their local Climate Change Coalition and Sierra Club organizations for their efforts with the program. Nevada County’s new solar panels will be producing 4.4 million kWh per year, meeting around 80% of the County’s energy needs. This is the equivalent to removing the greenhouse gas emissions of 653 cars or 981 tons of waste that is recycled instead of landfilled.
“When the Solar Generation and Energy Efficiency Program came to the Board of Supervisors I was ecstatic, because I always believed and wanted solar at Nevada County,” said Supervisor Chair Hank Weston. “This is monumental because it follows Nevada County’s 2012 Energy Plan and goals to reduce our carbon footprint.”
Nevada County would like to thank the County departments that played integral roles in this program, Information & General Services; the Community Development Agency; County Executive Office; County Counsel; and the Auditor-Controller, as well as the contractors Climatec, SunPower, and Teichert.