North State Solar Energy has completed a 500 kW solar photovoltaic system for the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB), a Buddhist community and monastery in Ukiah, Calif., that serves as the main center for the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. The 1,800+ ground-mounted panels and American micro-inverters at the CTTB are expected to save $6 million in energy costs over the 25-year lifespan of the system.
The tremendous growth in population and retreat attendance at the CTTB, along with the expansion of its schools and other projects, made the increasing costs of energy a growing concern. With electricity rates increasing 6% every year over the last decade, the CTTB utility group turned to North State Solar Energy for help in becoming more energy independent.
The array reduces its dependency on the local utilities and should produce enough energy to “zero out” the total electric usage. The CTTB’s founder, Master Hsuan Hua, originally instructed his disciples to look into solar over 20 years ago. From there, a campus-wide strategic energy plan was developed, and five years ago, the CTTB piloted an initial 50 kW solar project, which helped pave the way for the current 500 kW system. This new array is an achievement that is part of a long-term vision of the CTTB to shift to renewable energy sources.
NSSE says the entire CTTB project was built using materials entirely made or assembled in America, using an IronRidge ground-mount solar system, American Pride micro-inverters, and SolarWorld USA 280W monocrystalline silicon solar modules. NSSE maintains the system with software which monitors the production, health, and performance of the array in real-time.
