Burbank’s largest solar energy system featuring thousands of rooftop panels and battery storage is set for installation, the city’s Water and Power utility announced Thursday.
The 2.4 megawatt solar system will be installed on the rooftop of a parking lot at the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center, 2501 N. Hollywood Way. The system will be connected to a four-hour lithium-ion battery system that will store energy from 4,260 “American-made” solar panels, officials said.
“We want to thank our partners at the Hollywood Burbank Airport and the Airport Authority for helping to make this renewable project a reality for our community,” BWP General Manager Mandip Samra said in a statement.
Finding ample sun exposure for large solar energy installations is very challenging in densely populated areas such as Burbank and other cities in Los Angeles County. The transportation center has 174,000 square feet, or 4 acres of rooftop space for the 4,000-plus solar panels.
Officials said the energy generated from the new solar installation will go directly to the Burbank community.
Without battery storage, solar power is limited to daytime hours. In Burbank’s RITC project, the battery will save excess energy to distribute during peak usage and help prevent power outages.
“It is special to have this resource here in our community. Connecting to zero-carbon energy generated outside of Burbank requires access to transmission lines, which take an average of 10 years to build,” Samra said. “This project gets BWP one step closer to meeting our zero-carbon energy supply goal by 2040, five years earlier than mandated by the State of California.”
The project is expected to be completed by December 2025.
The city’s website has more information on solar power.
