ForeFront Power is putting the finishing touches on a solar and energy storage project for the County of Ventura, California — an installation expected to save the county more than $21 million in energy costs over the next two decades.

The project pairs a 5.8-MW solar canopy with a 1.9-MW battery at the County Government Center. The megawatt-hour capacity of the battery was not disclosed. Solar carports of this type generate electricity over parking areas an agency already owns — an approach often favored by local governments with limited open land but sizable lots — while shading parked vehicles. In California, pairing such arrays with storage is common practice: batteries allow midday solar output to be used later in the day, when time-of-use utility rates and demand charges are typically at their highest.

Ventura County had already secured renewable electricity through community choice energy procurement. Even so, the project offers a more economical route to the county's sustainability objectives by producing and storing clean energy on-site, reducing costs, improving budget predictability and increasing energy resilience. Community choice aggregation, authorized by California law in 2002, lets local governments pool their communities' electricity demand to procure power — often from renewable sources — while the incumbent investor-owned utility continues to deliver it over the same grid. On-site generation and storage offset a different layer of costs for participating agencies and, with the battery, support the Government Center's resilience.

"Every dollar we can save on operating costs helps us make the most of taxpayer funds," said Thomas Hunt, Director of the County of Ventura's General Services Agency. "This project is a great example of making a smart, long-term investment that lowers our energy costs, gives us more predictable expenses and provides lasting value to our residents."

The project was developed at no upfront cost to the county through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with ForeFront Power, under which the company will develop, own and maintain the solar energy and battery storage system. Over the 20-year term, the project is projected to save the county more than $21 million in energy costs. Third-party ownership of this kind is a standard financing route for US public agencies: as tax-exempt entities, counties generally cannot directly claim federal clean-energy tax incentives, so a private system owner can capture those benefits and reflect them in the contracted electricity price.

"Public agencies shouldn't feel stuck paying a premium for energy when they can save money and build resilience through on-site generation and storage," said Ruben R. Fontes, CEO of ForeFront Power. "We manage the complexity of development so the County of Ventura can accelerate its transition to renewable energy without upfront cost or added administrative burden. The county gets affordable energy at a low, predictable price for 20 years, while we shoulder the risk of getting it built and keeping it running."

With commissioning in its final stages, full operation of the canopy-and-storage system is the next milestone for the county, after which realized savings over the 20-year agreement can be tracked against the $21 million projection.

News item from ForeFront Power, via Solar Power World.