San Leandro Debuts Solar Panels On Wastewater Plant

SAN LEANDRO, CA — San Leandro will reveal a one-megawatt solar panel system at its Water Pollution Control Plant on Thursday at 1 p.m., the city said.

The WPCP cleans about five million gallons of wastewater a day, according to a city news release. The new solar panels will allow the largest consumer of energy among city facilities to reduce overall energy usage by at least 45 percent, which can total up to $247,500 in savings each year, the city said. The plant is also installing new energy saving devices like more efficient HVAC controls and LED lights, and battery storage that turns the solar array and plant into a micro-grid capable of keeping critical services running during power outages.

“There are no ifs, ands, or buts about the need for California cities to figure out where and how we can cut back on grid dependency for energy,” San Leandro Mayor Pauline Cutter said in a statement. “The City of San Leandro has been on a mission to improve the way we operate for years, and what we’ve learned is that technologies of, and for, the future are required to accomplish it. This green energy project by Climatec meets future demands as it aligns with our sustainability efforts.”

The WPCP improvements are part of Smart City San Leandro, a program to create more environmentally sustainable technology and infrastructure. In 2018, the city won a Mayors’ Climate Protection Award, and in 2020, the city met its Climate Action Plan goal of reducing 2005 emission levels by 25 percent.