Organized Labor

Largest Municipal Solar Installation in California Creates Jobs While Reducing Carbon Emissions

By Paul Burton
Contributing Writer

Union construction workers have completed the installation of 5,000 solar panels on the Sunset Reservoir’s North Basin roof. When the project is completed, 24,000 panels of photovoltaic cells will cover the reservoir’s roof, adding 5 megawatts of clean, renewable energy to the San Francisco electrical grid – the equivalent of the amount of energy used by about 1,500 San Francisco homes. The electricity will be fed into the grid and distributed to San Francisco municipal users like the General Hospital, San Francisco International Airport, Muni light rail, and city schools. AB 2573, sponsored by now-State Senator Mark Leno and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2007, enabled the installation of this large solar project on Sunset Reservoir by permitting the City to use power generated at this site for other municipal facilities.

Work began in February and will be completed this December. At a press conference April 6 at the project at 24th and Ortega Streets in the Sunset district, workers gathered with officials from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Supervisors Eric Mar and Carmen Chu to talk about the benefits of the project.

The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project is California’s largest municipal solar installation. San Francisco-based Bass Electric and Rosendin Electric are the main contactors on the job, with a crew of union electricians, laborers and operators. A press release from the Mayor’s office noted that, “the apprentices and journeymen will be provided trade related on-site training to ensure excellent craftsmanship.” Some of the workers were hired through San Francisco’s workforce development program First Source and the CityBuild Initiative, the pre-apprenticeship program that recruits from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. All of the new jobs pay prevailing wages.

“This project proves what we have been saying – that we can improve the environment while creating jobs,” said Mayor Newsom. “We are advancing economic development and workforce training in partnership with labor. This particular project will create 53 sorely needed jobs and provide critical stimulus for our local green economy.”

“With each solar panel, day-by-day, we’re fueling San Francisco’s transformation into a green economy,” Newsom said. “We are not just dreaming; we are doing.”

Newsom thanked Mike Theriault, SF Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary Treasurer, for his leadership and support as well as Supervisors Mar and Chu for working to get the project approved.

“I’m proud that my district will soon be home to California’s largest solar photovoltaic installation,” said Supervisor Carmen Chu, whose district includes the 8-square block Sunset Reservoir, the City’s largest. “I want to thank the environmental community, my colleagues on the Board, the SFPUC and Recurrent Energy for forging this smart public-private partnership that will rapidly expand our green power resources.”

“This historic project is an example of how protecting our environment and growing our economy go hand-in-hand,” Mar said. “I want to thank the ‘blue-green’ coalition of organized labor and environmental advocates who helped bring solar power to our largest City reservoir.” Mar said that he had been educated about the solar project by talking to the workers on the job site and that, “I didn’t do as much work as all of you here.” Mar was the sponsor of the power purchase agreement (PPA) approved by the Board of Supervisors last year between the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Recurrent Energy for financing of the project.

Through the PPA, San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy assumes all the risk and responsibility of financing, constructing and operating the project. The company has completed other solar projects in Northern California. According to the Mayor’s Office, “the agreement between the SFPUC and Recurrent Energy leverages a 30 percent federal tax credit available only to private companies, which will dramatically lower the project’s construction costs.” Adam Browning, executive director of the Vote Solar Initiative, wrote in an editorial last year that, “The power purchase agreement lets the city pay for predictable clean power rather than expensive solar infrastructure. In addition to removing the project’s up-front cost, the contract allows the city, which doesn’t pay taxes, to effectively harness a 30 percent federal investment tax credit available to private companies like Recurrent.”

Under the agreement, the SFPUC will purchase power from Recurrent at a discounted rate, saving $26 million over the 25-year lifetime of the agreement.

“We are pleased to continue working with the City of San Francisco as this project nears completion,” Recurrent Energy’s CEO Arno Harris said. “The Sunset Reservoir project is an excellent example of how distributed-scale solar can help meet our near-term renewable energy goals. This will be a flagship development in a leading city. It will deliver clean energy to the city in a way that benefits the economy and creates high level jobs.”

Theriault said he was impressed by how quickly the project was being done and led the crowd in applauding the crew of union members responsible for the work. “This is the kind of project that will help lead our economic recovery with good green jobs, local contractors, apprenticeship opportunities and strong partnerships between organized labor and the community,” Theriault said.

Union electrical worker Loni Barbosa, who came through the CityBuild program, said she had learned a lot on the job and was thankful for the opportunity to earn a good wage.

Vote Solar’s Browning said that the Sunset Reservoir Solar Project was “just the start,” and that it will be part of developing more clean energy. He said other jobs would be created through the manufacture, shipping and sales of solar systems. “Those jobs will be the backbone of a new renewable energy economy.” The panels being installed atop the reservoir are manufactured in China by the company Suntech. Newsom said that through the efforts of the City’s ChinaSF initiative which seeks to increase trade and business between China and San Francisco, the Chinese company set up their North American headquarters in the City.

Once operational, the Sunset Reservoir will triple San Francisco’s municipal solar generating capacity. Small solar projects now provide about 2 megawatts of electricity.

While there was some skepticism about the feasibility of citing the photovoltaic array in the Sunset district that is often shrouded in fog, a fact sheet from Recurrent Energy noted that, “While located in the Sunset district, the solar resource is still very good, on average only 15 percent lower than the sunniest areas of the City.” The location was also chosen because it is one of the largest reservoirs and rooftops owned by the City. The seismic upgrade of the roof over the Sunset Reservoir’s north basin makes it strong enough for the installation of solar panels.

The project conforms to city policy objectives on Greenhouse Gas Reduction that sets a citywide goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The Recurrent energy fact sheet notes that, “According to national data provided by the U.S. EPA, the solar energy system is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 109,000 metric tons. This is equivalent to removing more than 740 automobiles from operation or preserving over 30 acres of forest from deforestation.” The project was supported by labor, particularly the IBEW, as well as environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Vote Solar, and the Apollo Alliance.

San Francisco residential and commercial property owners will soon be able to get help financing their own smaller scale, environmental-oriented building improvements to reduce energy use. Mayor Newsom said that the City was moving forward on a green technology loan program, GreenFinanceSF, that will help property owners overcome the large up-front costs of major environmental improvements to their buildings. “These improvements will save property owners money on monthly utility bills, increase property value, and will help the city meet its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals,” he said.

Bass Electric is affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and IBEW Local 6 and Local 617, as well as Northern California Laborers, Local Unions 261 and 389. It is a member of the union contractor groups, the National Electrical Contractors Association and San Francisco Electrical Contractors Association. Some of the contractor’s other projects include installation of a 500 kilowatt solar electric roof array at Terminal 3 of San Francisco International Airport. The system features 3,000 SunTech modules on a SunLink rack system. The power generated from the photovoltaic array covers approximately 15 percent of the Terminal’s annual electric consumption and will avoid about 7,200 tons of Carbon Dioxide emissions over a 30-year period. Rosendin Electric is an employee owned electrical contractor with extensive experience in Solar Power and Wind Farm projects.