Del Monte Electric Completes Solar Hookup for 51 Schools
Del Monte Electric, one of northern California’s leading electrical contractors, celebrates its recent completion of a 51-school electrical installation for solar power systems at Mount Diablo Unified School District. This large, 15-month project was a collaborative effort between a major solar provider, a general construction company, a steel erection company and an architectural and design firm to install more than 12 MW of PV power to the entire school district, forecasted to reduce electric costs by $3 million per year.
The project was completed in 4 phases and much of the work occurred during the year when school was open. Del Monte Electric provided the entire electrical installation at the school sites from the AC tie in at the utility point of connection, through the underground electrical distribution, PV equipment installation, PV panel installation and all other associated electrical work. Over 28,000 PV panels and over 150 miles of wire were installed on carports and rooftops throughout the campuses.
“The capabilities of our team were continually challenged during this project as we had to meet critical schedule deadlines, budgetary constraints and our solar expertise had to be top-notch,” said John Hunter, president, Del Monte Electric. “This was a very complex project and we had to manage a huge crew of sub-contractors to work under aggressive schedules to minimize impact to the school district.” He adds, “We were able to stay on schedule and within budget during this 15 month project and are tremendously pleased with our staff and partners on this monumental accomplishment.”
Del Monte Electric managed a construction crew of over 100 people and a multitude of complex issues: they trained the workforce on solar theory and installation practices; they needed to man multiple sites at the same time; and they had to complete all of the high schools which were the largest sites prior to the start of school. The work encompassed having three large underground crews working on boring, drilling, and excavating at the same time at different sites to complete the underpad electrical work in order to meet the schedule demands.
The funding source for the $56 million project came from voter-approved Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBS), and the elimination of 90% utility cost will free up financial resources desperately needed for the district. Another major benefit of this massive project is the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions, and estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency indicate that these solar systems will avoid production of nearly 400,000 tons of emissions over the next 30 years.
See additional information about this SunPower project here.
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