Milpitas is advancing its Smart City Energy and Water Savings Program, which will help the city reduce utility consumption by more than 4.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Accordingly, the city will upgrade and install energy infrastructure and water conservation measures in a joint effort with ENGIE North America.
Read more of our news content, here: NERC alerts California, Texas, and the Midwest of potential summer energy shortages
Milpitas advances its Comprehensive Smart City Energy Program
Today, Milpitas’ City Council approved the Smart City Energy and Water Savings Program, which is expected to save more than $1.5 million in energy and water costs per year. Moreover, the program sees anticipated net lifetime savings of over $30 million.
Spanning the program includes over 200 kilowatts of solar; and an energy storage and microgrid solution for backup power at the Milpitas Senior Center and Milpitas Community Center.
The project also includes 15,600 advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) water meters with leak detection. Besides, over 2,185 LED streetlight retrofits, and 4,453 streetlight controls upgrades with outage detection.
Similarly, Milpitas will invest in city-wide LED lighting upgrades, particularly in parks, sports fields, city buildings, and community facilities. Moreover, the city is considering funding in water, wastewater, and stormwater management automation, touchless efficient water fixtures, and electric vehicle charging stations.
The City of Milpitas is simultaneously increasing the resiliency and sustainability of the Milpitas Community Center and the Barbara Lee Senior Center. Accordingly, each building will receive a backup power system. Moreover, the city will also install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the buildings’ parking lots.
Worth noting, the program will consist of seven phases by 2023, with five already under development.
Reception and ENGIE’s participation in the process
In this sense, Mayor Rich Tran from the City of Milpitas commented in a press release, “The goal of the City’s energy and water savings program is to upgrade critical infrastructure with an eye on three major pillars. These benchmarks are economic benefits, environmental benefits, and human benefits.”
Therefore, “through this program, we will leverage guaranteed energy and water savings to pay for the program and save the City money. In fact, we’ll do it while reducing our energy and water usage; improving community safety, and enhancing building comfort and usability,” said Tran. Thus, “the City of Milpitas is proud of our continued commitment to fiscal and environmental stewardship. Moreover, this comprehensive Smart Cities program will showcase Milpitas as a responsible and innovative community.”
In fact, the program provides the city with a dedicated AmeriCorps CivicSpark fellow for one year, the press release notes. Particularly, to fund the project, the city will use State incentives for battery energy storage.
Additionally, resiliency funds will come from Silicon Valley Clean Energy and AMI funding from Valley Water. In fact, the energy and water savings will allow the program to more than pay for itself.
On ENGIE’s side, Courtney Jenkins, a General Manager and Vice President at ENGIE North America, commented; “ENGIE is delivering a comprehensive, customized Smart City solution and helping the City of Milpitas to define its future as a sustainable and resilient place to live.”
Accordingly, “ENGIE North America will deliver a sophisticated bundling of energy and water conservation measures. In fact, these are expected to reduce utility consumption and advance the City’s climate ambitions.”
