SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — July 20, 2021 — The County of San Luis Obispo and ForeFront Power, a provider of renewable energy solutions, today announced that the County Operations Center 1.2-megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar system received a Top Project of the Year Award in the elite Environment + Energy Leader Awards program. The win is an indication that the program’s expert judges consider the County of San Luis Obispo a top example of the exemplary work being done today in the fields of energy and environmental management.

On the path to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, the County of San Luis Obispo is striving to stabilize electricity costs and invest in services for the community through the installment of the County’s largest solar project: a 1.2 MW ground-mounted solar project at the County Operations Center. This project will generate enough electricity to avoid an additional 1,735 metric tons of CO2, the equivalent of removing 375 passenger vehicles from the road each year. Developed by ForeFront Power, the new ground-mounted solar installation will also substantially help the County move forward with its goal of sourcing 20% of its electricity from renewable sources. The County Operations Center solar project alone accounts for about 10% of electricity offset by renewable energy. This massive sustainability initiative for the County of San Luis Obispo will provide the County with over a million dollars of energy savings over the next 20 years.

One judge said of the County Operations Center solar system: “Benefits are related to cleaner energy production, energy savings, greenhouse gas emissions reductions and cost savings that can allow the county to support other relevant projects with these savings.”

Another added, “This solar project in San Luis Obispo County is an important first step towards the implementation of more renewable energy projects in this and other counties.”

The Environment + Energy Leader Awards is a program recognizing excellence in products and services that provide companies with energy and environmental benefits, and in projects implemented by companies that improved environmental or energy management and increased the bottom line.

“With a very experienced and critical judging panel and a strict set of judging criteria, entrants faced an extremely high bar to qualify for an award in 2021”, says Sarah Roberts, Environment + Energy Leader publisher.

Learn about the County of San Luis Obispo’s complete solar project portfolio developed by ForeFront Power here.

About the County of San Luis Obispo

The County of San Luis Obispo government is one of the original 27 counties in California. The County’s 3,300 square miles and 100 miles of coastline are divided into five supervisory districts each represented by an elected official who serves on the Board of Supervisors. The County government is one of the largest employers in San Luis Obispo County and provides more than 700 public services. For more information, visit www.slocounty.ca.gov.

About ForeFront Power

ForeFront Power is a leader in the United States for solar and energy storage solutions. The ForeFront Power team holds more than a decade of experience working together across nearly one gigawatt-DC (GW) of renewable electricity, spanning more than 1,300 distributed generation and community solar projects. Serving business, the public sector, and community solar customers in the U.S. and Mexico, ForeFront Power is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and Mexico City. ForeFront Power is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., a global energy infrastructure and investment leader with a robust balance sheet and an “A” credit rating from Standard & Poor’s. For more information, visit forefrontpower.com.

About the Environment + Energy Leader Awards

For nearly a decade, the Environment + Energy Leader Awards have celebrated excellence in the world of environmental, sustainability, and energy management. Award winners are truly buzz-worthy, and companies that sport a Top Project or Top Product of the Year Award badge are known to be the best of the best. When other companies are seeking a sustainability or energy management solution, they know that E+E Product of the Year Award winners offer a significant group of products, vetted by experts, to peruse for help in making their decisions. Project of the Year Award winners are known to illustrate how sustainability and energy management projects can successfully help other companies improve the bottom line.