Solar project in City of San Fernando cuts 130 tons of carbon dioxide per year

The project will eliminate the equivalent of 302,000 vehicle miles driven, according to the health center.

A circa 1924 building, home to the San Fernando Community Health Center, showed off its modern new twist on Friday, Aug. 9 — the installation of 247 solar panels that will provide 60% of the health clinic’s power.

The $298,000 solar project installation in San Fernando drew a crowd of local leaders, doctors, nurses and technical experts including San Fernando Mayor Celeste Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Mary Mendoza, and Audrey Simons, CEO of the San Fernando Community Health Center.

“As a federally qualified health center, we hold a special responsibility to protect the planet we all share” Simons said in a prepared statement. “Improving the health of our community and preserving the environment are intrinsically linked.”

Rodriguez said in a statement, “We’re proud to partner with (the health center) on our city’s first-ever solar panel project at a city facility, as we make progress toward a sustainable future. … We will continue building a greener, more equitable community now and for the next generation.”

According to the health center, the solar project will produce 169,100 kilowatt-hours per year and will eliminate 130 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually — “the equivalent of 302,000 vehicle miles driven, and the carbon sequestered by 138 acres of forest every year.”