On a Gray Day, Shining Light on NMWD's New Solar Panels

The sun was too shy to come out Friday, but officials from the and several other organizations were gregarious enough to celebrate the new solar panel installation near the water treatment plant on Novato's west side.

The panels are just above the southernmost holes of the Indian Valley Golf Club and about a quarter mile from the treatment plant, which will be powered by the panels. The panels, just fewer than 1,400 in all, are expected to produce about 650,000 kilowatt hours of power annually.

General Manager Chris DeGabriele read a long list of organizations and individuals to credit, including chief engineer Drew McIntyre, auditor/controller David Bentley, operations/maintenance superintendent Robert Clark and all other NMWD employees involved. He thanked of Novato and Pacific Gas and Electric for their contributions to the $2 million project.

NMWD is leasing the property on its watershed to SPG solar and entering into a power purchase agreement.

"The main message, and it's a big one, is that we didn't have to front any capital for this," DeGabriele said. "This is something our board wanted to do for about five years, but we couldn't pencil it out ... David Bentley worked really hard to try and find something cost-effective, but it was a real team effort."

NMWD board member Rick Fraites echoed a comment from board president Steve Petterle when he said they never see a crowd like the one gathered Friday unless the board is talking about increasing rates. Fraites said the project means NMWD will be in full compliance with the Global Warming Solutions Act requirements for the year 2050.

"The solar power system reaffirms the North Marin Water District's focus on innovative renewable energy solutions," he said. "The facility not only insures that electric rates to power the Stafford Lake water treatment plant will be a predictable known quantity in the future, but long-term our costs will be reduced and 270 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions will be avoided annually.

... All of this with no up-front capital outlay to the district, which is music to all of our ears."

About 20 percent of Novato's water comes from man-made Stafford Lake and is processed by the treatment plant a few feet from the dam.

For another story about this project, see this piece from the .