The City of Hayward adopted a Climate Action Plan in July 2009 as a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, the City Council has implemented green building standards, environmentally friendly landscaping guidelines, and other major initiatives to meet emissions reduction targets.

"I am very proud of what has been accomplished," said Hayward Mayor Michael Sweeney.

"Environmental sustainability is one of the top priorities for the City Council. This solar energy system will provide a significant amount of power to the highest energy-consuming facility owned by the City and contribute substantially to our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the community's dependence on non-renewable energy sources."

REC Solar, based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., designed and managed the installation that covers approximately eight acres within the WPCF, and utilizes ground-mounted, single-axis trackers along with 5,152 REC Group REC 225PE solar panels.

"Forward-thinking municipalities like Hayward are key to encouraging the adoption of renewable energy technologies, as they recognize both the environmental and economic benefits of large-scale solar installations like that at the Water Pollution Control Facility," said Kam Mofid, President of REC Solar, Inc.

"It is particularly meaningful to provide clean energy to a facility dedicated to clean water and a cleaner environment. We are excited to contribute to the city of Hayward's sustainability efforts and help the community reduce its carbon footprint."

The project was made possible with financial assistance from the California Solar Initiative (CSI) and the California Energy Commission. PG and E will administer the CSI incentive rebates, totaling up to $2.6 million over the next five years, for reducing use of conventional energy sources. The California Energy Commission provided a low interest loan of nearly $2.5 million.

REC Solar, based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., designed and managed the installation of 101 rows of single-axis trackers along with 5,152 solar panels manufactured by REC Group. The system provides enough energy to power more than 153 average U.S. homes for one year. Additionally, the system will offset an estimated 24 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the initial 25 years of operation, the equivalent of removing approximately 183 cars from the road each year.

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