September 18, 2009 By News Report
Across the Sacramento River from the California state capital lies West Sacramento, a burgeoning, industrial city home to the Port of West Sacramento. The port is a large, if underused, inland seaway that serves as a hub for the international export of rice and materials such as cement and fertilizer.
During a Sept. 2, 2009, meeting of the West Sacramento City Council it was revealed that Spanish solar power development firm Otras Producciones de Energia Fotovoltaico (OPDE) had opened talks with the city about leasing 160 acres along the port's deep water channel on which to build a 24-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant. The OPDE is one of the world's largest builders of solar power plants.
In an Aug. 20, 2009, letter to the city, Greg Brehm, director of distributed energy resources for OPDE's U.S. arm, proposed construction of a "single axis tracking solar power generation facility." Should the facility be built, Brehm wrote that in addition to powering 5,000 homes, it would have the environmental impact of taking more than 6,000 cars from the road and would sequester the same amount of carbon as would 8,000 acres of pine forest annually.
Brehm also noted that the 18-month project would create 50 full-time jobs during construction and 10 permanent positions once the facility becomes operational.
If built, the facility would be the largest photovoltaic plant in the nation. Photovoltaic solar power, as opposed to solar thermal, is what most imagine when thinking of solar power. Photovoltaic systems track the sun as it moves across the sky to collect solar radiation via solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity. Solar thermal, meanwhile, relies on parabolic mirrors that reflect the sun's rays onto a boiler, which in turn generates steam to turn a turbine. Some solar thermal facilities direct the reflected rays onto oil-filled pipes instead of a boiler. The heated oil is pumped to heat engines, which convert the energy into electricity.
This Digital Communities white paper highlights discussions with IT officials in four counties that have adopted shared services models. Our aim was to learn about the obstacles these governments have faced when it comes to shared services and what it takes to overcome those roadblocks. We also spoke with several members of the IT industry who have thought long and hard about these issues. The paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.
Don't miss this opportunity to see the latest in digital government solutions, keep abreast of current policy issues and network with key government executives, technologists and industry specialists.
Digital Communities News In Your Inbox
Subscribe to Digital Communities
Digital Communities (DC) is e.Republic‘s local government program. The particular strength of DC is its focus on encouraging collaboration and creating productive relationships between and among cities, counties, regions and select private sector companies uniquely positioned to help improve the delivery of public services.
Subscribe | View Digital Issue