U.S. General Services Administration
Solar panels at Tecate Land Port of Entry boost sustainability as port inches closer to net-zero carbon emissions
By: Javier Fernandez
With over 263 sunny days per year, the Tecate Land Port of Entry (LPOE), located in southeastern San Diego County, is ideally suited for installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. PV panels would provide carbon-free, renewable energy and help the port meet GSA’s ambitious renewable energy and sustainability goals.
Case in point, GSA’s San Diego Service Center (SDSC) recently installed solar panels atop the Tecate LPOE’s commercial inspection and vehicle headhouse buildings. They also oversaw the construction of two new solar carports that provide much-needed shade in the hot desert environment. The new 247 kW array at the port is estimated to produce 467,000 kWh of carbon-free electricity every year. This equates to 331 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) or the equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions for 71,000 cars.
“The beauty of this project is that GSA was able to install these solar panels at Tecate with no upfront costs,” said Kory Swanson, Construction Services Branch Chief for the SDSC. “Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESC) have been a game changer for facilitating sustainability and energy projects at our federal buildings and border stations.”
Put plainly, Utility Energy Service Contracts are special agreements between local utility companies and government institutions, like GSA, to fund projects that generate renewable energy or make the facility more energy efficient. They include installing LED light fixtures and solar panels and upgrading heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. In turn, the money saved on energy costs repays the cost for sustainability upgrades projects over time.
The UESC Tecate PV contract used for the solar panel project is part of a larger UESC project that includes the James A. Carter and Judith N. Keep U.S. Courthouse and the Otay Mesa LPOE, which also includes interior and exterior LED light fixtures, PV systems at the ports, and HVAC Improvements.