May 2--More than a year of planning and construction culminated April 26 as Desert Water Agency officially began using a solar- power plant to generate electricity.

The $2.5 million solar electrical system will power Desert Water Agency's operations center in Palm Springs.

"To pump water is very costly," said Dave Luker, general manager and chief engineer. "We're always trying to reduce power requirements. We use as much automation as possible to avoid using employees that would otherwise be needed."

Desert Water Agency used a $1.2 million rebate from Southern California Edison to build the solar plant.

The money was available through the Self-Generation Incentive Program, authorized by the California State Energy Commission, to promote the use of clean energy. The agency used an additional $1.3 million of its own funds.

Southern California Edison approached Desert Water Agency about its program in early 2004. The agency found the deal to be an attractive opportunity to reduce operating costs and solicited two solar energy equipment manufacturers--Shell Solar Energy Systems Inc. in Mission Viejo and BP Solar International LLC in Frederick, Md., Luker said.

"We quickly put together a contract with Shell and they went through manufacturing the panels. It all went together very quickly and very cleanly," Luker said.

The water supplier is capable of pumping 45,000 acre-feet of water.

Desert Water Agency expects to save at least $70,000 a year as the cost of energy increases over the next several years, Luker said.

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