Sacramento’s port gets a littler greener (and we’re not talking about algae)

From Green Right Now Reports

The Port of West Sacramento plans to be among the greenest anywhere. With the installation of photovoltaic panels or “modules” that cover 90,000 square feet of the rooftops of two rice warehouses, port authorities project that they will produce on-site all of the port’s electricity needs for the next 25 years –

Solar panels at the Port of West Sacramento

saving the port about $20,000 in energy costs annually.

Port authorities announced last week the planned installation of 3,536  Mitsubishi Electric modules, and publicly thanked East West Bank for financing the project.

“This project fits in well with our bank’s ‘Go Green’ initiative to promote the expansion of the clean tech industry in California,” says K.Y. Cheng, Executive Vice President of East West Bank, which is headquartered in California where it has more than 100 branches.

The port is quite serious about its intent to become one of the greenest in the country, said port manager Mike Luken, in a statement. Next on the environmental agenda: The ports of West Sacramento, Oakland and Stockton, are planning a “marine highway” container barge system that could improve energy efficiency and reduce harmful emissions of shipping on the region’s waterways.

Mitsubishi is a large manufacturer of solar powered technology, making both PV modules and inverters that are used by businesses, schools, factories, stadiums and regional facilities without access to conventional electricity.