Sustainable Business Oregon is reporting that Gresham has turned on what is believed to be the largest ground mount solar system in the Pacific Northwest.
Ground mount solar panels are easier to install than roof-top arrays and aren’t often seen in urban areas because of the space they take up. But Gresham officials decided to take advantage of the land at their wastewater treatment facility on N.E. Sandy Blvd. by installing enough panels to generate 460,000 kilowatt hours of energy — enough to power 43 homes for one year.
This is the first solar power plant of this scale for Gresham. The solar array system is made available with no upfront cost from the taxpayers. SunEdison, a solar energy services provider, owns, operates and maintains the array and the city purchases the energy produced.
The system was constructed through a partnership with SunEdison, REC Solar and incentives provided by the Energy Trust of Oregon. San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based REC Solar designed and installed the system.
Read about Gresham’s system and their plans to have the wastewater treatment plant off the grid within 5 years here.
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