PROJECT OVERVIEW

Tribe/Awardee
Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians

Location
San Jacinto, CA

Project Title
Soboba Community Solar Energy Project

Type of Application
Deployment

DOE Grant Number
DE-EE0006950

Project Amounts
DOE: $1,000,000
Awardee: $1,127,664
Total: $2,127,664

Project Status
See project status

Project Period of Performance
Start September 2015
End December 2016

Summary

The Soboba Community Solar Energy Project proposes installation of a 1.0-megawatt (MW) AC ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) system that, once installed, will generate approximately 1,884,686 kilowatt-hours (kWh)/year, meeting 80% of the annual energy needs of key community facilities.

The project will benefit every tribal member since the cost of running the community facilities, including electric bills, comes out of the general tribal fund. The estimated 20-year project savings of $6,418,064 can be redirected to other vital community needs, and the project will provide additional jobs for tribal members.

The following meters/buildings are anticipated to receive the solar generation from the project:

  • Planning Area A: Noli High School, Ball Field #1 and #2, Sports Complex, Drinking Water Pump Stations #1, #3, and #4, and Irrigation Pump Station #1
  • Planning Area B: Tribal Administration Building, Pre-School, Tribal Hall, and Public Works Facilities
  • Planning Area D: Oaks Sports Complex (multiple meters) and Well Water Pump S.W. #1.

The current grand total for the annual usage for the three planning areas (above) is 2,335,060 kWh/year. To ensure the system is sized properly, the project team calculated 80% of this amount, or 1,868,023 kWh/year, as the target load to replace with solar energy.

Project Description

Background

On June 19, 1883, President Chester Arthur established the Soboba Indian Reservation by Executive Order. It was a 3,172-acre tract, which included the Soboba Village and the adjacent hills. The Reservation today encompasses nearly 7,000 acres, 400 of which are devoted to residential use.

The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians (Soboba Band or Soboba Nation) has a current enrollment of approximately 1,200 tribal members who are governed by an elected Tribal Council of 5 tribal members.

This community solar project is a large part of the Tribe’s current energy policy goal, and as a first step to achieve its energy vision, the Soboba Nation proposes to implement the 1.0-MW PV system to meet 80% of the annual energy needs of key community facilities.

Project Objectives and Scope

The Soboba Band intends to utilize this project as a step toward achieving the Tribe’s long-term energy vision. Specifically, the Tribe’s long-term energy vision has three objectives:

  • Tribal self-sufficiency to attain greater control of its destiny vs. a state of dependency
  • Cost control in view of rapidly rising electric utility expenses, which drain tribal resources (from Jan. to July, 2014, the electric rates escalated by 21% for some time-of-use rates)
  • Environmental sensitivity and the use of renewable energy consistent with sustainable development practices.

As a first step in a multi-step process to achieve its energy vision, the Soboba Nation proposes to implement a 1.0-MW AC PV system to meet 80% of the annual energy needs of key community facilities.

Project Location

Today, the Soboba Indian Reservation lies in the lower reaches of the San Jacinto Mountains, across the San Jacinto River from the city of San Jacinto. The proposed project site is vacant tribal land immediately to the east of the water well located at 24150 Soboba Road in San Jacinto, California.

Project Status

This project is complete. See the final report.

The project was competitively selected under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy Tribal Energy Deployment Program's fiscal year 2015 funding opportunity announcement “Deployment of Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects on Indian Lands” (DE-FOA-0001021) and started in September 2015.

The March 2015 and December 2016 project status reports provide more information.