Renewable Energy

 

1st Place Award

HACSB-Maplewood Homes
San Bernardino, California

In late 2010, the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB) and Helio Micro Utility applied for and were awarded $1.84 million, the largest California Solar Initiative Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) Track 2 Grant in California. To capture funds from the Section 1603 program, the duo created a no-cost Power Purchase Agreement that used MASH funds and Section 1603 grants to prepay for energy over 20 years allowing the HACSB-Maplewood Homes project the ability  to buy out the PPA early with no cash investment and 100 percent of the benefit used to create tenant benefits by offsetting their energy expense or transferring common area savings into tenant programs.

Development Team: Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino and Helio Power/Helio Micro Utility.

 

Honorable Mention

Biofuels Use of Digester Gas in Fuel Cells
San Diego, California

BioFuels Energy LLC is taking a wasted, environmentally damaging resource, in this case methane gas being flared at the City of San Diego Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Facility, and converting it to renewable energy. The first phase of the two-phase, $45 million development was the installation of a treatment facility.  In the second phase of the project, three fuel cells were installed at separate locations: at the Biogas facility in Point Loma,  at San Diego’s South Bay wastewater plant and at the University of California, San Diego.

Development Team: BioFuels Energy LLC, HDR Engineering Inc., U.S. Bank, New Energy Capital, FuelCell Energy Inc., Otto H. Rosentreter Company, SCS Energy and the CleanTech Alliance Fund.