Chevron and City of Solana Beach Partner to Reduce Energy Consumption

The City of Solana Beach and Chevron Energy Solutions have joined to implement a ground-breaking energy program expected to improve the city's streetscape, boost efficiency in city facilities, and save the city more than $40,000 in its first year alone, all with minimal impact to the city's general fund.

The $1.4 million project is expected to trim the city's annual energy consumption by more than 350,000 kilowatt-hours by upgrading more than 500 streetlights to highly efficient LED technology; adding a new "cool roof" and more efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) to City Hall; and installing new efficient lighting fixtures at City Hall, the Fire Station and Marine Safety buildings. Solana Beach was one of first cities in San Diego County to pilot LED street lights, and is now the county's first city to complete a retrofit of all city-owned street lights to LED.

"We appreciate the opportunity to make these much-needed streetlight and building improvements with minimal impact to the General Fund," said Lesa Heebner , City of Solana Beach Councilmember and member of the Council Ad-Hoc for Environmental Sustainability. "We are grateful to all the teams involved, including Chevron Energy Solutions, for their assistance in securing project financing and incentive programs that will help Solana Beach save money through energy efficiency."

These improvements are expected to reduce the city's annual energy consumption, improve lighting quality and aesthetics, reduce maintenance costs, and provide consistent indoor climate quality. Through this project, the city expects to cut its electrical utility usage for three buildings and city-owned streetlights by 41 percent in its first year, with the majority of savings from the LED streetlight retrofit alone. To replace the City Hall roof, which was past its current useful life, the city used total expected savings from the upgrades, a fiscally responsible approach.

Chevron Energy Solutions designed, engineered and installed the energy efficiency upgrades and new roof, which are expected to reduce the city's operation and maintenance costs. "We are proud to join forces with the forward-thinking leaders of the City of Solana Beach, who share in the vision of sustainability and energy conservation," said Jim Davis , President of Chevron Energy Solutions. "Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for environmentally sustainable operations for the City of Solana Beach – one that provides a real, working example for cities throughout the San Diego region."