DECEMBER 8, 2009 -- Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the west side of the downtown San Diego Convention Center. The environmentally friendly project is slated to begin in early 2010. The photovoltaic panels will cover 90,000 square feet, and will not alter the look of the bayside convention center, according to a spokesperson.
“Installing solar power on the top of our building is like having our own clean power plant at the facility,” says San Diego Convention Center Corporation general manager Brad Gessner.
The panels are being installed by SPG Solar at no cost, via a 20-year power purchase agreement between the SDCCC and Alternative Energy Capital. The panels are valued at $2.7 million, and will be maintained, owned and operated by AEC/SPG Solar.
The power generated by the panels will be sold to the convention center at lower “peak demand” rate per kilowatt hour than the SDCCC is currently paying. Spokesperson Steven Johnson says the savings over the course of the 20-year agreement will be about $1.7 million.
Gesner says the installation will also offset about 10 percent of the facility’s electrical consumption. Convention center officials pride themselves on being green industry leaders. In 2009, the convention center recycled 40 percent of its total waste, including 150 tons of waste food.
In September, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced a plan to expand the 2.6 million square foot convention center. That plan is currently not funded. Task force renderings for a phase 3 expansion do also include solar panels on the roof.