Burbank Water and Power, in collaboration with Hollywood Burbank Airport, unveiled the city’s largest solar installation Friday, marking a milestone more than a decade in the making.
The 2-megawatt solar system, located on the rooftop of the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center (RITC), has the capacity to power up to 585 homes. The site provides 4 acres of rooftop space above the parking structure and holds 4,260 American-made solar panels.
BWP General Manager Mandip Samra said the $17 million project has been more than 10 years in the making and will provide clean and renewable resources.
“We don’t want to rely on outside vendors or outside agencies or outside transmission,” Samra said. “It’d be really great to be able to control resources and build resources internally and have our team control and operate it. It gets us closer to a zero-carbon grid.”
Samra also credited the project’s success to a long-term partnership with Hollywood Burbank Airport.
Burbank Mayor Tamala Takahashi said in-territory energy generation is essential as the city moves toward a zero-carbon future.
“This project highlights the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act in funding and deploying renewable sources,” Takahashi said. “We receive substantial tax credits that allow it to proceed, significantly reducing the impact on the city’s budget.”
Takahashi said this project is a catalyst for other projects in the future.
“We have another solar installation that’s going to be going on top of our new airport as well, and this is just the beginning,” Takahashi said. “We now have this first win, and we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.”
