Enphase Energy, Inc., a global energy technology company, and North State Solar, a pioneering Northern California-based general contractor specializing in solar-electric installations for residential, commercial and agricultural projects, today announced their latest collaboration, a 500 kW solar photovoltaic system for the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB), the main center for the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association.
The two companies will unveil the array as part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the CTTB on Saturday, August 27, 2016. The 1,800-plus ground-mounted panels and Enphase microinverters at the CTTB are expected to save $6 million in energy costs and eliminate 14,000 tons of global-warming CO2 from the environment over the 25-year lifespan of the system.
“North State Solar Energy listened to what the City of 10,000 Buddhas wanted to accomplish with its long-term energy goals,” said Hans Stullken, vice president of business development for North State Solar Energy. “We created solutions around these goals to bring together a unique solar project that is already outperforming its production estimates by over 10 percent.”
The ribbon-cutting event takes place at 1:00 p.m. PDT this Saturday, August 27, 2016 at the solar field at the CTTB campus in Ukiah, Calif., and will include a chant to dedicate the merit of this project and send good energy out into the world. Mendocino County CEO Carmel Angelo and Supervisor Carre Brown will participate in the event, along with representatives from Enphase, North State Solar, SolarWorld and the CTTB. Refreshments and snacks will follow the ceremony, along with guided tours of the CTTB campus.
The tremendous growth in population and retreat attendance at the CTTB, along with the expansion of its schools and other projects, made the increasing costs of energy a growing concern. With electricity rates increasing six percent every year over the last decade, the CTTB utilities group turned to North State and Enphase for help in becoming more energy independent. The array reduces its dependency on the local utilities, and should produce enough energy to “zero out” the total CTTB electric bill by 2026.
The CTTB’s founder, Master Hsuan Hua, originally instructed his disciples to look into solar over 20 years ago. From there a campus-wide strategic energy plan was developed, and five years ago the CTTB piloted an initial 50kW solar project, which helped pave the way for the current 500kW system. The new array is an achievement that is part of a long-term vision of the CTTB to shift to renewable energy sources.
The entire CTTB project was built using materials entirely made or assembled in the U.S., using an IronRidge ground-mount solar system, Enphase American Pride M-250 microinverters and SolarWorld USA 280W monocrystalline silicon solar modules. Enphase Enlighten software monitors the production, health, and performance of the array in real-time.
For more information about the project, visit www.infinitelightsolar.com
