a utility spreads the sustainable energy message

SDA supports large-scale utility solar deployment in California

Location: Sacramento, CA USA Client: Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Use: Multiple buildings

Background:

• In 1993, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) retained Solar Design Associates to provide program definition and technical support to their in-house engineering group for their pioneering solar program.
  
  Following the example set by SDA in creating the First Solar Neighborhood in Gardner, MA, SMUD embarked on an ambitious plan to install PV systems on many hundreds of their customers' buildings each year.

  Over the past decade, SMUD has fielded hundreds of PV systems, ranging from residences and commercial buildings to substations and multi-megawatt central station power plants.

Outcome:
Today, SMUD is leading the country in utility use of PV and other renewables.

Following the state's 2001 energy crisis, SMUD's staff and budget more than tripled to keep up with the huge demand. SMUD's initiative has expanded to include many programs and incentives to promote solar, wind and other renewable energy sources.

The passage of the California "Million Solar Roofs" initiative has placed SMUD in the vanguard of utilities able to leverage their expertise in alternative energy. Their early adoption of photovoltaics and other new technologies, with the assistance of Solar Design Associates and other industry leaders, has placed SMUD in a position to prosper in the new economic and regulatory climate of California.

SMUD has received many honors for their visionary approach to energy-conscious living on a large scale - in October, 2005, they were recipients of the Million Solar Roofs Zero Energy Homes award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Contact SDA to discuss integrating renewables into your proposed large-scale utility project.

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