Following a breakthrough in the future of clean energy at Lawrence Livermore National Lab last month, the Tri-Valley is now set to house another one of the world's most ambitious renewable energy projects to date, with thousands of new solar panels set for installation at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon.
Officials at Sunset Development Company announced the second phase of their partnership with New York-based DSD Renewables, which will see 35,000 new solar panels installed across Bishop Ranch by early next year -- enough to offset an estimated 90% of energy use at the redeveloping business park.
"As we continue to transform Bishop Ranch into a vibrant downtown, DSD remains the ideal partner to assist in getting us one step closer to our ultimate goal of relying 100% on clean, renewable energy," said Alexander Mehran Jr., president and CEO of Sunset Development Company.
The first phase of the project, which kicked off in 2021, has offset energy use at City Center Bishop Ranch by 75%, and made it the largest shopping center in the world to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Currently, San Ramon has the largest concentration of property with LEED certification outside of a metropolitan area.
"DSD's acclaimed state-of-the-art technology reflects and complements Bishop Ranch's commitment to sustainability," Mehran said. "The immense scale of this second phase, along with its innovative design and overall aesthetic, is set to place San Ramon on the map for solar and energy storage installations."
In total, the solar energy and storage project is estimated to be capable of producing and holding nearly 25 megawatts of electricity upon completion, officials said.
"The second phase of solar installation at Bishop Ranch is a testament to their sustainable business practices, and we are excited to partner with them at this scale to design and build this architecturally stunning solar plus storage portfolio," said Ben Jones, executive vice president of Canopy Design Engineering at DSD Renewables.
Comments
Registered user
Danville
on Jan 18, 2023 at 7:25 am
Registered user
on Jan 18, 2023 at 7:25 am
I have solar panels plus the battery and enjoy the benefits when there are outages, etc.
I also wonder what will happen when all the solar panel fields age off in the future. Will we be dealing with the same disposal issues as florescent bulbs later on? Calling solar "clean energy" does not seem honest when examining how they are made and how they will be "retired".
Just a thought.
Registered user
San Ramon
on Jan 20, 2023 at 3:11 pm
Registered user
on Jan 20, 2023 at 3:11 pm
This is wonderful news! I'd heard that Sunset Development was fairly sustainably conscious. Now I know it. I applaud them loudly. As a co-founder of San Ramon Valley Climate Coalition, we'd love Sunset Development's support to get the city onboard with green initiatives and getting the city to declare a Climate Emergency (why not if the city is actually greening San Ramon). If the city is actually trying to attract global companies (most of those companies need to prove they are sustainable to compete in other countries), then own up and acknowledge that we the people of San Ramon, and the world are in a climate crisis.
Sue Bock
Co-Founder
San Ramon Valley Climate Coalition