To improve sustainability, Chevron Energy Solutions entered into an agreement with the City of Patterson that will include solar installations, energy efficiency programs and energy cost reductions, according to a press release by Chevron.
This is the first of its kind in Stanislaus County that will result in the city’s generating its own green and renewable electricity, which in turn reduce citywide energy costs. This collaboration will save taxpayers an estimated US$6 million over the life of the project. It will also make neighborhoods in the city safer by replacing streetlights with more efficient LED fixtures.
With Chevron, the city will install solar panels to generate clean and renewable power for the city’s sewage treatment plants, corporation yard, and senior and aquatic centers. The installations will provide over 90 percent of the facilities’ energy requirements. The LED streetlights are also expected to save over US$200,000 per year in electricity expense.
Chevron and the city have also engaged WattzOn, a community-based energy-efficiency non-profit. This is intended to help residents and business owners identify free and low-cost ways to reduce their energy use through free energy audits. The collaboration, which will be called The Capacity Project, will also build a workforce in clean technology and energy by training and hiring Patterson high school students as energy auditors, being paid US$14 per hour. The energy savings from the program are expected to create more disposable income for households and businesses, stimulating the local economy.
The city has become a model of innovative economic development in the San Joaquin Valley. Together with these sustainability initiatives, the city has demonstrated success in attracting new businesses and jobs. An example is online retail global giant Amazon that has selected the city as the site for its first northern California distribution center, a state-of-the-art, one million square foot facility.
“This partnership will help us deliver on our sustainability goals and, at the same time, our economic development goals,” says Mayor Luis Molina. “This project will help us both improve our environment and the attractiveness of our business climate. Both are critical goals for us.”
“We are proud to partner with Patterson,” says Chevron Energy Solutions President Jim Davis. “The city’s leadership represents a positive example for cities across the San Joaquin Valley, the state and throughout the country.”
Chevron Energy Solutions is one of the largest installers of solar power in the U.S. public sector and has developed hundreds of projects to develop and build renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, reduce energy costs, and support sustainability. Its parent, Chevron Corporation, invests across the energy spectrum to develop energy sources for future generations by expanding the capabilities of alternative and renewable energy technologies.
The City of Patterson, called the “apricot capital of the world,” is in Stanislaus County, 27 miles southeast of Tracy and 17 miles southwest of Modesto. With a population of over 20,000, Patterson is a rural small town surrounded by agricultural land. Agriculture is still its primary economic base, including apricots, almonds, walnuts, dry beans, and tomatoes. But over the last decade, Patterson’s economy has begun a diversification process, with several major national and international companies including Amazon, Wal-Mart, W.W. Grainger, CVS Drugs, Kohl’s and Affinia Brake Parts locating major warehousing and distribution facilities in the city’s West Patterson Business Park. Patterson’s strategic location along the Interstate 5 corridor will facilitate future growth in the commercial, industrial, and residential sectors.
