Email The solar array at the Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of several EID alternative energy projects. Courtesy photo Facebook Save ... the investments in alternative energy projects provided a minimum of $1,818,600 in cost savings to EID in 2023. With the rising cost of energy on everyone’s mind, the El Dorado Irrigation District Board of Directors and EID staff reviewed investments the agency has made in alternative energy infrastructure at its recent meeting. One of the district’s biggest expenses, Senior Civil Engineer Jon Money noted in 2023 the agency’s electric bill came to $6.8 million. To reduce that hit to the budget, to date EID has invested in three types of energy-related infrastructure projects, including in-conduit hydro, solar and battery-power storage. In-conduit hydro generation has been disappointing by returning the least bang for the buck, according to EID's analysis. The project consists of taking pressurized water from the Pleasant Oak Main water transmission pipeline and feeding it into two turbines that can produce a combined total rated output of 445 kilowatts (kW) of electricity before the water is fed into two storage tanks. More expensive to construct than originally estimated by almost $500,000, the project's electrical cost savings have been lower than expected. Anticipated to be $215,000 annually, in 2022 they were only $112,000 and in 2023 EID saved $118,000. The payback period for the project has been lengthened from 17 to 35 years with staff estimating there will be no net savings until the year 2053. However Money said despite these setbacks, staff will continue to work on improving the facility's operation with the goal of eventually generating more power onsite. Commenting on the report, Board President Alan Day said the project should serve as a “cautionary tale going forward,” saying there were objections and questions about it when it was first proposed and the 17-year payback period did not constitute a good investment. Director Lori Anzini asked what kind of grants might be available to help the district with its energy usage. Money noted the district had recently hired a person to help pursue grants and other assistance might come through existing PG&E programs. A second energy related investment described by Money has generated more positive results and consists of solar facilities at the El Dorado Hills Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. A 50% cost match by the California Public Utility Commission initially offset the cost of the solar field at the EDHWWTP. Operational since 2006, EID recouped the upfront cost in annual cost savings and other costs in 2017 and 2021 of approximately $550,000. And while the panels have degraded to some extent over the past 18 years, in 2023 cost savings totaled $389,808. In addition to the existing solar field at EDHWWTP, EID has entered into power purchase agreements with Greenbacker Capital for three additional solar facilities at EDHWWTP and DCWWTP. Under these kinds of agreements a third-party developer (in this case Greenbacker Capital) owns, operates and maintains the solar system and the customer sites the system on its property and purchases the system's electric output for a predetermined period. Under these PPAs, Money said the district pays between $0.078 and $0.106 per kWh delivered, whereas PG&E’s rates can be up to $0.60 per kWh during peak hours. The difference between PG&E’s rate and the PPA rate multiplied by the amount of solar energy produced results in cost savings to the district. Construction on the PPA facilities began in September 2020 and the facilities were operational in 2021 at EDHWWTP and DCWWTP. Initially the district projected cost savings of $491,181 during the first year of service. However, because PG&E’s electrical rates have gone up sharply since 2018 and energy production from the three PPA arrangements has over-performed, there has been a total cost savings of $953,238 at the three PPA sites during 2023. The district also receives renewable energy certificates for each megawatt-hour of solar energy produced. The district decided to sell its REC credits to a third party, which allows the third party to use the environmental, social and other non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation to offset its carbon footprint. In 2023 EID realized $93,500 in REC sales. When combined, the district received $1,436,546 in cost savings and credits from solar in 2023. A third area of energy investment has been with battery energy storage facilities. EID staff began working with Tesla in 2020 regarding potential battery storage and identified eight district facilities that qualified for Self-Generation Incentive Program Equity Resiliency rebates. Incentives available under the SGIP rebates covered up to $1,000/kilowatt-hour for battery storage installations. In most cases, this rate covered the cost of engineering and installation of the batteries themselves. EID was responsible for additional costs for site improvements and applicable PG&E service upgrades. The primary benefit of energy storage projects to EID is it reduces on-peak power use demands at each facility by charging the batteries during off-peak hours and then fully discharging them during peak hours in a practice known as peak shaving. The provided backup battery equipment is also designed to fully power all but one site during a power outage. To date, Money reported the batteries have slightly outperformed initial cost savings forecasts. In 2023 BES projects provided $264,100 in cost savings for seven installations over the past twelve months. The BES located at the DCWWTP was not granted permission to operate from PG&E until September 2023 and was not included in that year’s cost analysis. Taken all together, the investments in alternative energy projects provided a minimum of $1,818,600 in cost savings to EID in 2023. However, Money said, staff are not recommending any additional projects at this time although they continue to monitor other potential alternative energy and energy-saving projects as they become available. Facebook