A Boyle Heights rooftop with solar panels capable of generating 300 kilowatts of energy is the latest addition to a solar power grid providing energy for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, DWP officials and others gathered Wednesday at Angelus Grand plaza, which includes a Food 4 Less supermarket and a CVS pharmacy, to switch on the solar panel installation.
Power from the solar array will be sold to DWP to add to the utility’s menu of renewable power sources.
The project is in what USC and UCLA consider a “solar equity hotspot,” which is a place where there is a low-income community and ample number of rooftops for potential solar projects.
This solar panel project is part of several in the DWP’s feed-in tariff program, known as CLEAN LA Solar, that allows commercial property owners to set up their own solar arrays to generate energy for the utility’s use, as opposed to just using the panels to power the buildings.
The company Edge3 Solar owns the solar installation at a 103,000-square- foot property owner by Levy Affiliated Holdings. The project was initially submitted by Solar Provider Group, which later sold it to Edge3.
The feed-in-tariff program, which began in 2013, has so far led to 14 projects able to generate 7.1 megawatts of solar energy, according to a release from the Los Angeles Business Council, which has championed this program. The DWP has a goal of setting up a grid of solar panel installations that can create 150 megawatts, under this program.
“I am excited to see a local business step up and join the CLEAN LA Solar movement in Boyle Heights,” Huizar said. “I hope it inspires others in Council District 14 and throughout the city of Los Angeles to apply to this valuable, environmentally friendly program, which creates jobs and clean, renewable energy while reducing pollution.”
—City News Service