EBMUD unveils new 12-acre solar power plant near Briones Reservoir

The PG&E Sobrante substation is across Bear Creek Rd. from the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and Orinda Solar Photovoltaic Project (Orinda PV) at 518 Bear Creek Road, Orinda , California, May 30, 2024. One of the East Bay's largest photovoltaic projects, the 4.6-megawatt installation will generate 10 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy per year. (Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News)

(BCN) — There are 12 acres of new sun-hungry hardware just off Bear Creek Road in Orinda, not coincidentally, across from a PG&E substation under Briones Reservoir. Only this new installation – acres of shiny new solar panels absorbing sunlight – is a project of the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

Turns out they need electricity to deliver water to about 1.4 million customers and decided solar was the way to do most of that. EBMUD on Thursday unveiled the Orinda Solar Photovoltaic (Orinda PV) Project, a collection of more than 12,000 solar panels capable of producing 10 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy per year, offsetting nearly 10 percent of EBMUD energy costs.

The project will come online this fall and instead of connecting all of this new clean energy to EBMUD's facilities, it will be connected to PG&E's grid, with PG&E crediting EBMUD for the energy it contributes to its overall energy supply. The five-year project is part of EBMUD's move to achieve its goal of being completely carbon neutral by 2030, a decade earlier than its previous goal.

“We cannot succeed in our mission without protecting the environment, which means carefully managing our natural resources,” EBMUD Managing Director Clifford Chan said during a ceremony at the factory Thursday morning. “And while we invest significantly in our infrastructure, we also need to invest in sustainability. And this renewable energy project is a key part of our strategy.

Chan said climate change is no longer just a concept happening in the future. “Climate change is happening now and this change will affect many of us, many aspects of our lives, including our ability to provide reliable and affordable water,” Chan said. “This project helps us all. Investing in a sustainable future is the right thing to do for our customers. It's the right thing to do for our planet today and for future generations.

EBMUD has entered into a 25-year agreement on the Orinda project with TotalEnergies, a global multi-energy company based in the Bay Area. “This project is exciting for many reasons,” said EBMUD board member Marguerite Young. “This is our largest solar installation. We have installed solar panels in many of our facilities, on a much smaller scale. But it’s a flagship project for us. It will provide approximately 10% of our energy, saving our customers $26 million over the life of the project, or likely lasting more than 25 years. Today it is one of the largest facilities in the Bay Area.

The panels are equipped with motors allowing a range of movement of up to 15% to follow the sun, which they will do as soon as it rises in the east each morning. They can withstand winds of 120 mph and sit on a plain where the drainage has not been altered. Orinda City Council member Brandyn Iverson said city officials were initially concerned about the size of the project being built in a naturally beautiful area. But EBMUD has won over the community.

“The commitment to stewardship and preservation is reflected in everything about this project,” Iverson said. “It’s invisible. It is quoted with sensitivity. It was really well thought out and presented. So to come and see it finished and it’s still invisible… it’s a wonderful project on every level.

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