With a new wastewater treatment plant under construction, the City of Atwater anticipates that energy demand will increase when the new facility comes online. Like many communities in California facing economic challenges, Atwater needed to find a creative way to help reduce energy costs associated with this greater demand. To help achieve this objective, the City issued a request for proposal for a solar energy power purchase agreement (PPA). Through a PPA, the City of Atwater wants to:

• Obtain a lower electrical cost per kilowatt hour than it currently pays

• Offload some of the new wastewater treatment plant’s demand

• Reduce overall energy costs while taking advantage of a clean, sustainable energy resource

Through a competitive RFP process, the City of Atwater selected Siemens Industry, Inc., as its partner in a solar energy PPA.