City of Antioch

The City of Antioch announced the completion of six new solar parking canopies at the city’s Lone Tree Golf and Event Center marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony in October 2019. The solar arrays, totaling at 374 kilowatts (kW), will provide shade to the golf course parking lots, as well as clean, cheaper energy to the facilities.

The decision to go solar stemmed largely from the city’s desire to offset rising energy costs, with solar now offsetting 85% of the facility’s energy usage.

Antioch selected local solar and energy storage developer, ForeFront Power, to develop, finance, and construct the solar project. All of this came at no cost to the city, thanks to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Over the course of the twenty-year agreement, the city’s golf course will receive discounted solar energy, which is expected to save the city over $1M over twenty years.

The City of Antioch is one of the many progressive California communities that is seeking to not only offset rising utility rates, but also reduce environmental impact using renewable energy. Created after the passage of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32), the state initiative aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In 2009 the City of Antioch created their own goal to reduce GHG emissions by 25% in year 2025 and by 80% by year 2050.

In 2011, the City put that goal into action by creating the Community Climate Action Plan, which highlights possible programs and actions that the City can adopt to reach emission reduction targets. According to Julie Haas-Wajdowicz, Antioch’s Environmental Resources Coordinator, the adoption of PV solar plays an important role in the Community Climate Action Plan. “The City has a community wide goal of installing 10,000 kW of solar PV,” said Haas-Wajdowicz. “The solar project at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center helps us achieve this goal.”

The City is excited that the Lone Tree Golf Course and Event Center are now operating more sustainably.

CustomerCity of AntiochSegmentPublic SectorTypeParking CanopyCapacity374 kWYear2019LocationAntioch, California