Industrial, Solar  -  August 29, 2023

Mountain Regional Water District Adds Floating Solar

Mountain Regional Water Special Service District, a special service district of the state of Utah that serves drinking water to the Snyderville Basin area of Park City, Utah, will add a floating solar photovoltaic array site.

Ameresco, Inc., a cleantech integrator specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, received the contract to design and install the floating solar array.

The array will be owned by the district and placed on the treatment plant’s holding pond to provide electricity to power the water treatment plant.

Ameresco’s project design involves the deployment of a 589.7-kilowatt, DC capacity floating solar array. The system will be integrated behind the meter with the Rocky Mountain Power utility, allowing it to serve electricity directly to the treatment plant. 

The completion of this project is designed to offset 92% of the energy consumed from the grid and reduce the district’s energy costs by 80%. The new floating solar array system will also produce 887,712 kilowatt-hours of solar energy annually, significantly contributing to the local power supply.

The floating solar array system is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 384 metric tons annually. Construction is anticipated to begin in June 2024 and reach completion by September 2024.

“Traditional ground or rooftop solar wasn’t an option for us at this facility, but this innovative floating solar installation makes use of an untapped resource,” said Chris Braun, Mountain Regional Chief Technology Officer, in a statement. 

Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program awarded this project to the Mountain Regional Water Service District as one of a dozen community-based renewable energy projects awarded in 2023. Blue Sky is an opt-in program that gives Rocky Mountain Power customers the option to match all or part of their energy use with renewable energy, reducing their carbon footprint.

Share this valuable information with your colleagues using the buttons below: