The City of Vacaville, Californi, and ForeFront Power held a “Flip the Switch” ceremony to celebrate the development of a 5 MW DC solar energy and storage portfolio at the City’s Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant (EWWTP). The system will generate nearly 8.1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, offsetting approximately 80% of the plant’s annual electricity consumption.

During the day, the solar energy array will provide power to electrical loads—including large motors, equipment, HVAC, security systems, and IT—while the battery storage banks excess energy produced during extended sunlight. Stored energy can be dispatched at night, on cloudy days, or whenever facility demand exceeds solar production. Treating up to 7.5 million gallons of wastewater daily, EWWTP is a critical 24/7/365 industrial public facility. By integrating solar power and energy storage, the EWWTP facility decreases their reliance on costly grid electricity, leading to lower energy bills. Vacaville is projected to save over $25 million over the next 20 years through a fixed, lower electricity rate than the local utility.

“Vacaville’s sustainability goals are about better outcomes for people—healthier air, smarter use of resources, and reliable public services,” said Vacaville Mayor John Carli. “By pairing solar with smart battery storage at an industrial facility that treats an average of 7.5 million gallons of wastewater daily, this project will help power operations essential to minimizing public health risks and our environmental impact.”

“We applaud the City of Vacaville for its leadership in deploying clean, renewable energy at a mission-critical facility,” said Ruben R. Fontes, CEO of ForeFront Power. “The Easterly WWTP now benefits from solar energy generation paired with intelligent storage—producing power when it’s abundant and dispatching it when it matters most—supporting local public health and community resilience for decades to come.”

The project received coverage in Solar Power World, PublicCEO, and The Vacaville Reporter.