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LA's Water Department to Install 11.6-Megawatt Photovoltaic Array by Staff GetSolar.com, March 4, 2011

The city of Los Angeles has already beaten goals it set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the amount of renewable energy sources, and now LA's Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has joined with SolarWorld to develop an 11.6-megawatt solar panel system.

The photovoltaic array will generate enough clean energy over the course of its 25 year life span to power over 85,000 homes and offset the release of 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The LADWP is the largest municipal utility in the U.S. and will own and operate the solar array.

Construction on the photovoltaic system began in February at the LADWP's existing high-desert Adelanto Switching and Convertor Station; the project was approved in December by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. The Adelanto solar project is projected to produce 22,400 megawatt-hours of clean electricity during its first year of operation, and over 515,700 megawatt-hours over the next 25 years.

Raju Yenamandra, the U.S. vice president of sales for SolarWorld, said in a statement the solar panel system presented some unique engineering challenges, but that the company was excited to partner with the LADWP. "We look forward to once again demonstrating our project-engineering ingenuity," he said.