Burbank Breaks Ground On New Solar, Battery Power Project

BURBANK, CA — Burbank officials have broken ground on what will be the city's largest solar system to date.

The 2.4 megawatt system will be installed on the roof of the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center's parking lot and will be connected to a four-hour lithium-ion battery storage system, Burbank city officials announced Thursday.

“This project gets BWP one step closer to meeting our zero-carbon energy supply goal by 2040, five years earlier than mandated by the State of California," Mandip Samra, general manager at the Burbank Water and Power Department, said in a statement Thursday.

The roof of the parking lot was chosen because, at 174,000 square feet, it provides the optimal space for the 4,260 solar panels that will be installed, city officials said. All the energy will go directly back to the Burbank community, they added.

The ion battery storage will be used to store any excess energy, which can be used during peak power usage, helping to prevent outages, city officials said.

“It is special to have this resource here in our community," Samra said. "Connecting to zero-carbon energy generated outside of Burbank requires access to transmission lines, which take an average of 10 years to build."

The project is expected to be completed by December 2025, according to city officials.