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Cupertino Electric Helps LA's World Cruise Center Go Solar

Jan. 1, 2011
The Port of Los Angeles has completed its World Cruise Center solar rooftop project, a 71,500-square-foot, 1MW system capable of generating approximately

The Port of Los Angeles has completed its World Cruise Center solar rooftop project, a 71,500-square-foot, 1MW system capable of generating approximately 1.2 million kW-hours of electricity annually for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) energy grid. Comprised of 5,140 solar modules (210W each), the array was installed by the Energy Alternatives Division of San Jose-based Cupertino Electric Inc. The solar panel project is part of a $42 million upgrade at the World Cruise Center, the home of the original “Love Boat” in the 1970s.

Expected to result in an annual $200,000 energy cost savings, the solar photovoltaic installation is the first phase of a multi-location solar power program that will eventually produce 10MW of solar system generation capacity. The $10.8 million project includes a total of 1.16 million square feet of rooftop solar panels, larger than the size of a football field. Three additional project phases are slated for completion over the next five years.

The roof-mounted system features high-efficiency crystalline modules and utilizes a self-ballasted racking system that does not penetrate the terminal's existing roof. Electricity generated is routed back to the LADWP through an existing electric meter at the World Cruise Center facility.

In another example of the green thinking going on at the Port of Los Angeles, Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) currently used at some container ship terminals will soon be available so cruise ships can “plug in” to shoreside electric power instead of running on diesel power while at berth. Depending on the size of the ship, estimates are that AMP will reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by one ton (2,000 pounds) and reduce 85 percent of sulfur oxide (Sox) emissions out of the air each day a ship is at berth and plugged in.

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