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Bishop Ranch broke ground Monday on a new rooftop and canopy solar installation project that company officials say will offset the San Ramon business park’s energy usage by 90%.
With the overall goal of converting all of its campus power usage to 100% renewable energy, Bishop Ranch officials say the new rooftop system in combination with its solar installations at City Center will produce an estimated 4,771 MWh/year, which amounts to 3,374 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided — the equivalent of taking more than 700 cars off the road or planting over 55,000 trees.
“With substantial investments in innovative new technologies like this portfolio of solar energy systems, Bishop Ranch is redefining the concept of sustainable business practices,” said Ben Jones, canopy team leader and director of engineering for Distributed Solar Development (DSD). “By working closely with their architectural partners, we were able to design solutions that align beautifully with Bishop Ranch’s existing architecture and aesthetic. It has been a true team effort, and everyone involved is extremely proud of the result.”
DSD has now designed two solar modular technology installations on the Bishop Ranch campus, which has previously earned LEED Platinum certification from Green Building Council for its efforts to use renewable energy and ethical environmental practices.
In the last year, the solar installation installed by DSD at City Center produced about 2.15GWh of energy, of which approximately 1.91 GWh was used by the retail complex, resulting in approximately $316,000 of savings, according to DSD staff. That facility also offset annual energy usage for City Center by about 75% on average.
“DSD is the perfect partner to help us achieve our renewable energy goals. They have the ability to create innovative and architecturally beautiful solar solutions that blend seamlessly with Bishop Ranch’s overall aesthetic while optimizing energy production,” said Alexander Mehran, Jr., president and CEO of Sunset Development Company, which owns and operates Bishop Ranch.
“This solar installation complements our core green philosophy, award-winning transit program, extensive recycling initiative, and green cleaning practices that have come to define Bishop Ranch,” he added.
Glad to see that Sunset Development is taking steps towards cleaner energy and sustainable practices. In 2008, a small group of forward-thinking San Ramon citizens took the City of San Ramon, the City of San Ramon Planning Department, and Sunset Development to task over their lack of forward thinking with respect to the future of business, the impact on the citizens of San Ramon, and survival of humanity. Two lawsuits, a petition to put the City Center on the ballot for vote by the citizens of San Ramon, the 2008 real estate bust, and Alex Mehren, Jr. – representing a newer generation – Bishop Ranch is on track to lead the rest of San Ramon businesses and government officials.