SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Tahoe Public Utilities District (STPUD) had a “ribbon cutting” of sorts on Wednesday. With no ribbon to be seen, the STPUD board threw the switch on for the largest solar array in the Tahoe Basin, celebrating renewable energy and the efforts of the community.

This project was years in the making and director Shane Romsos stressed how needed such a project was. “Energy is one of our fastest growing costs,” he said. The solar array spans 1.5 acres and will generate 1.4 megawatts of power per year—roughly a third of the energy requirements of the wastewater treatment plant.

The solar array will offset over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year and is estimated to produce $190,000 in savings in its first year. It was bought through a power purchasing agreement with the Staten Group, who also constructed and installed the 2,112 panels.

The panels are set four feet above the ground in preparation for snow seasons, and are bifacial, meaning they can absorb sunlight (and reflected sunlight from the snow) from both sides of the panel.

Romsos thanked their partners and collaborators, including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the city of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and Liberty Utilities. He also thanked staff, saying, “Since the idea was formed in 2019, our staff has worked tirelessly to make this happen.”

Board director Nick Exline said, “This was a really long journey to get here… this was an effort of ‘we.'” He thanked the community for their support and added, “We have a unique opportunity as a public utility. We want to work together so that Tahoe can bring forth its own energy future, because this sets a pathway to where we’re going to go in the future.”