03 Feb Idyllwild Water District
Located in the San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs, the Idyllwild Water District (IWD) provides approximately 100 million gallons of water per year to its customers over a 2,500 acre service area.
The facilities operated by the IWD include 23 wells, a water treatment plant, a storage and distribution system, a wastewater treatment plant and a sewage collection system. Due to ever increasing electricity costs and the unreliability of the electrical grid, the IWD sought alternative means of power to pump water and increase overall system reliability.
WorldWater designed and built a 44.1 kWDC PV VariMax™ power system. The PV VariMaxTM system is configured in two sub-arrays for running Well and Transfer pumps (7) and the Water Treatment Plant. During daytime operation of pumps and motors, power is supplied by the PV system first and any additional power required is provided by the electric utility. In the event power is lost from the electric utility and the pump motor or non-motor loads require power, the PV system will supply solar power directly to the VariMax™ controllers to operate the loads. The Backup Mode is instant, automatic and requires no user intervention.
WorldWater’s custom solar solution will save the IWD approximately 70% of its electrical costs and significantly enhances IWD’s operational reliability.
Idyllwild Water District experienced a good joint cooperative solar project with WorldWater. WorldWater is an innovative, pioneering company with integrity who has shown us that they will do whatever it takes to complete the project…I would recommend using WorldWater for building and custom designing solar systems to meet the different operation requirements for both water and wastewater districts.
Terry Lyons, General Manager, Idyllwild Water District
