City of Fresno expected to save $122 million in bills with solar and storage projects

The city is expected to save on electricity costs over the next 20 years from its new 27 MW portfolio of behind-the-meter solar projects.

April 25, 2025 Ryan Kennedy

Solar at the Fresno Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility.

Image: ForeFront Power

The City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities (DPU) engaged ForeFront Power to install a behind-the-meter solar and energy storage portfolio.

The three-site project portfolio combines for 27 MW and includes a 19.6 MW installation at the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility. The portfolio includes solar and storage installations at two other water treatment facilities.

The portfolio was constructed by local union labor from the IBEW Local 100, creating 120 local jobs.

Each site is comprised of ground-mounted solar modules on single-axis tracker mounts. The portfolio is estimated to produce about 47 million kWh annually, roughly equivalent to the electricity demand of 6,000 homes.

The installation includes 4.3 MW / 8 MWh of battery energy storage, with batteries provided by Tesla and Sungrow.

The city DPU secured the project at no upfront cost via a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). ForeFront Power will operate and maintain the solar projects and charge DPU a fixed, below-market rate for electricity. DPU will achieve budget certainty by avoiding utility rate increases from utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which has raised rates by 110% over the last decade.

“The DPU sites are unique in their scale as well as their impact,” said Ruben Fontes, chief executive officer, ForeFront Power. “By generating and storing clean power on site, DPU reduces its reliance on costly grid electricity and can pass those savings back to ratepayers. Moreover, the batteries installed at each site ensure that energy is always available to power the City’s essential infrastructure.”

In addition to the DPU sites, the City of Fresno worked with ForeFront Power to install solar facilities at the Fresno Animal Center, Fire Station 18 and the Southeast Police Substation. Moving forward, ForeFront Power will also install solar and battery systems at the Fresno Airport’s new terminal building, parking garage, and the Fresno Area Express bus yard and employee lot.

The City of Fresno procured its solar energy and battery storage assets by leveraging the Renewable Energy Aggregated Procurement (REAP) Program. REAP provides public sector buyers with pre-negotiated contracts, industry-leading pricing, and standardized terms. Through REAP’s integrated request for proposals (RFP) process and PPA, the City of Fresno selected ForeFront Power to develop, finance, and construct its solar energy and energy storage portfolio.

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