The combined solar-plus-storage system is expected to deliver more than $160,000 savings to SOMO Village in the first year and more than $1.8 million over the first 10 years of operations. Codding Enterprises, which owns and operates the SOMO development, has invested more than $10 million in solar across various properties.
SOMO Village is a mixed-use development with approximately 600,000 square feet of commercial space with 50 businesses employing around 1,000 people. The property consumes nearly 6 MW of energy annually and redevelopment plans include a host of shops, apartments, homes and neighborhoods. SOMO Village will now have a total of 16,000 solar panels at the 200-acre campus, creating Sonoma County’s largest solar+storage project.
SOMO Village was the first development in North America to be named a “One Planet Community” by Bioregional, an organization that works with partners to champion a better, more sustainable way to live, work and do business. Bioregional’s One Planet Living framework uses ecological and carbon footprinting as its primary guiding principles. The principles are based on ten criteria, including zero carbon emissions.
The community also has been been certified at the highest Platinum level by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-ND).
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SOMO Village is such a great example of how to build places in an environmentally responsible way! I always feel great when I go there to eat or watch a concert, because it’s in a beautiful location and eco-friendly to boot!