Like many communities throughout California, Riverside is doing its
part to increase its use of renewable energy sources. The city offers
many incentives that can help reduce the cost of solar kit installation
in both homes and businesses. Incentives from Riverside Public Utilities
alone have the potential to pay for upwards of 50% of the installation
costs.
Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) has several projects, ongoing and
completed, that have made excellent use of solar kits. Their utilities
operation center uses PV panels installed on carports which are capable
of producing 150 kW of electricity, which is enough to power around
100 homes. These carports also help provide 152 shaded parking spaces
for employees, adding to their functionality.
Riverside has also used this idea of an energy producing parking lot
for the La Sierra Metrolink Station. This structure provides about 133kW
of electricity, all of which is free of charge. Between these two parking
structures, RPU will be eliminating millions of pounds of carbon dioxide
and other contaminants from the air over the next couple of decades.
