Bishop Ranch Breaks Ground on Solar/Storage Installation

Distributed Solar Development (DSD) recently broke ground on a 1.283MW solar plus 1.34MWh storage installation at Bishop Ranch business park and mixed-use development in San Ramon. The rooftop and canopy system is expected to offset Bishop Ranch’s energy usage by 90 percent, while the combined on-site storage system will help reduce its overall energy load to provide significant savings.

In partnership with Bishop Ranch’s owner, Sunset Development Company, DSD has now designed two solar modular technology installations on the campus to optimize energy production as Bishop Ranch works toward its ultimate goal of shifting to 100 percent clean renewable energy.

“By working closely with their architectural partners, we were able to design solutions that align beautifully with Bishop Ranch’s existing architecture and aesthetic,” said Ben Jones, Canopy team leader and director of engineering for DSD.

Bishop Ranch already holds the distinction of the largest concentration of LEED-certified space outside of a major metropolitan area, and this latest installation will build on that achievement. The first site DSD designed and installed was at City Center Bishop Ranch, the largest outdoor shopping and lifestyle center to be awarded LEED Platinum Certification. The installation is designed to offset annual energy usage for City Center by 75 percent on average.

In the last year, the solar installation at City Center Bishop Ranch produced about 2.15GWh of energy, of which only 1.91 GWh was used by the center, and resulted in approximately $316,000 of savings. The two installations combined will produce an estimated 4,771 MWh/year, which amounts to 3,374 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided, the equivalent of taking more than 700 cars off the road or planting more than 55,000 trees.