SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio city officials hope the construction of a large-scale solar program can push the city closer to sustainability and efficiency while also saving taxpayer dollars.
With 14 of the city’s 42 municipal projects already commissioned, leaders are “officially” announcing bringing the largest on-site solar program by a local Texas government online.
The $30 million initiative involves the installation of rooftop and solar canopy shade structures at various city-owned facilities.
“All of those systems are going to produce electricity that goes right back into our buildings to reduce the amount of electricity that we’re actually purchasing,” said Doug Melnick, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of San Antonio. “So, the goal is producing clean energy for city operations while saving taxpayer money on electricity bills.”
The solar program moves San Antonio closer to its 2040 goal of achieving “Zero Net Energy” for all municipal buildings.
“So, for 10 to 15 years, these will be producing electricity that we can save that amount that we would be spending on electricity,” said Melnick. “We capture those dollars and then we reinvest those into our buildings to improve.”
City leaders hosted a commissioning ceremony at the Public Safety Answering Point. This site features solar canopies and provides 249 covered parking spaces for City of San Antonio employees. The 1.19-megawatt system is designed to offset approximately 77 percent of the facility’s annual electricity consumption.
“We can harness solar power in a parking lot and save the costs of running a facility that is operating 24 hours a day, in the case of this public service dispatch facility,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “It’s saving taxpayer dollars.”
Big Sun Solar, a San Antonio-based commercial solar company, is developing the program under a services agreement with the City.
The 14 commissioned projects total 4.11 megawatts worth of solar capacity and include:
- Jean Yates Community Center, 568 Rasa Dr., District 4 Rooftop Installation
- Southside Lions Senior Center, 3303 Pecan Valley Dr., District 3 Rooftop Installation
- West Police Substation, 7000 Culebra Rd., District 5, Parking Lot Canopy Installation
- Pre-K 4 SA East, 5230 Eisenhauer Rd., District 5 Rooftop Installation
- Melendrez Community Center, 5919 W Commerce St., District 5 Rooftop Installation
- Southwest Service Center, 6927 W Commerce St., District 5 Parking Lot Canopy Installation.
- Cliff Morton Development and Business Services Center, 1901 S Alamo St., District 1 Rooftop and Parking Lot Canopy Installation.
- West Police Station, 7000 Culebra Rd., District 6 Parking Lot Canopy Installation.
- Fire Station #37, 11011 Vance Jackson Rd., District 8 Rooftop Installation.
- Garza Community Center, 1450 Mira Vista, District 7 Rooftop Installation.
- Northeast Senior Center, 4135 Thousand Oaks Dr., District 10 Parking Lot Canopy Installation.
- SAFD Service Garage, 230 S Callaghan Rd., District 6 Rooftop Installation.
- Public Safety Answering Point, 8039 Challenger Dr., District 3 Rooftop and Parking Lot Canopy Installation.
- John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78249. District 8, Rooftop and Parking Lot Canopy
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