SunEdison has signed a 20 year power purchase agreement with the Rialto Unified School District in California for 8.4 MWdc of solar power. As part of the agreement, SunEdison will install solar canopies above the parking lots of all 28 schools in the district.
The school district expects the solar systems to generate a 20% savings on their electricity bill, which equates to $1 million saved in the first year alone. Over the course of the 20-year contract, the school district expects to generate an estimated $30 million dollars savings on energy costs. In addition, the school district is eliminating the emission of an estimated 21 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of taking more than 2,000 cars off the road.
"The Rialto Unified School District is taking a financially savvy approach to control their energy costs," said Sam Youneszadeh, SunEdison managing director of Western U.S. commercial and industrial. "The SunEdison solar canopies will generate clean, affordable energy while providing welcome shade for cars in the parking lot. SunEdison solar solutions are quick to deploy and bring our customers real, immediate energy savings for years to come."
The canopy mounted solar systems are expected to be completed in the second half of 2016. The solar systems are on the Call Right Projects List for TerraForm Power, Inc. to acquire. Operation and maintenance of these solar power plants will be performed by SunEdison Services, which provides global 24/7 asset management, monitoring and reporting services.