U.S. Postal Service Brings Energy Efficiency, Solar Power to Northern California Processing Facility

Abstract

As part of its ongoing drive to optimize efficiency and conservenatural resources, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) completed major energyefficiency upgrades and one of the largest federal solar power installationsin the nation, at the USPS’s West Sacramento Processing & DistributionCenter. The 573,000-square-foot mail facility is a major Postal Service hubin Northern California, employing more than 1,200 people and processing8 to 10 million pieces of mail daily, around the clock. Chevron EnergySolutions developed, engineered and constructed the project, whichincluded a solar photovoltaic system mounted on a new parking structure;energy efficient lighting systems; heating, cooling and ventilation systems;air compressors; and energy management controls.The improvements will reduce the facility’s annual electricitypurchases by more than $615,000 and its power consumption by morethan 33 percent, or about 5.5 million kilowatt-hours per year. The projectwill also lower natural gas use by about 43,000 therms per year. Together,these reductions translate to avoided local electric utility emissions ofabout 3,900 tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of planting1,100 acres of trees.The project’s completion was celebrated in October 2004 at anevent that was held in the shade of the solar-paneled parking canopyand attended by USPS and other government officials. The 403-kilowattsolar electric system, a product of PowerLight Corporation, is the larges