Energy Innovation
County of Lake
Innovation in Sustainable Community
Infrastructure
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From left: Mark Dellinger,
Special Districts Administrator for the County of Lake; Denise
Rushing, Chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors; Matt
Perry, Chief Deputy Administrative Officer for the County of
Lake;
Anthony Farrington, Supervisor, Lake County Board of
Supervisors
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The County of Lake is recognized for using solar energy to power facilities that treat, transport and recycle wastewater, and then use the treated wastewater to recharge geothermal resources for geothermal energy production. The project is part of a larger effort to create sustainable energy and community infrastructure in Lake County. Since 1997, the Lake County Sanitation District and industry partners—the Northern California Power Agency and Calpine Corporation—have been operating a wastewater reuse system that pumps treated wastewater effluent to the Geysers geothermal generation complex, the largest complex of geothermal energy in the world. The County of Lake and the Lake County Sanitation District have installed five solar arrays (a total of 22.5 acres), with an impressive 3.2 megawatt capacity, making the project the largest solar installation of any county in California. With the installation of its solar facilities, the County of Lake is now using one alternative energy source (solar) as part of its efforts to treat, transport, and recycle wastewater, which is then used to recharge and sustain another alternative energy source (geothermal), which generates power for homes and businesses. The new solar facilities enable the county to moderate and control long-term electricity costs and save businesses and residents millions of dollars.