MARYSVILLE, Calif. – At its regularly scheduled meeting last week, the Yuba Community College District (YCCD) Board of Trustees adopted a resolution authorizing financing for the Central Plant Energy Efficiency Project.

The total cost of the project is approximately $6.3 million, $6.2 million of which is for project expenditures and the remainder coming in financing costs.

In order to obtain the best available financing, YCCD filed applications with the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) and the California Energy Conservation Commission (CEC). Both agencies offer financing at well below market terms.

Currently, the terms include 15 year payment schedules and interest rates of approximately 3 percent. The interest rates are subsidized by the federal government, which equates to an interest rate savings of at least 1.5 percent over conventional tax-exempt rates.

On March 26, CDLAC notified the district that it was allocating the full $6.3 million in Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) to YCCD. As a result, the district will be able to fund the creation of the Central Plant at Yuba College with a single QECB.

The Central Plant will bring tremendous energy savings to the Marysville Campus, making Yuba College more energy efficient as it will no longer rely on individual boilers and coolers to heat and cool its buildings.

In addition to the Central Plant Energy Efficiency Project, YCCD has also accepted SunPower’s proposal to design, build and maintain Solar Photovoltaic Arrays/Panels at Yuba College, Woodland Community College, the Colusa County Outreach Facility in Williams and the future Sutter County Campus for a Guaranteed Maximum Price not to exceed $17,996,628.

In turn, YCCD will receive “turn-key” long term generation of 3.08 megawatts of electricity.

“The Central Plant and Solar Panels Projects at YCCD will complement and further enhance the $190 million Measure J Bond Construction Program passed by voters in 2006,” said Dr. Nicki Harrington, Chancellor, YCCD. “More importantly, these projects will lead to long-term energy efficiencies that will move a large portion of the District off the grid.”

“Moving forward with a central plant and solar panels sends a strong and clear message to our communities that we are committed to green technology and energy efficiency as stated in our Sustainability Board Policy 6610,” said YCCD Board of Trustees Vice Chair Brent Hastey. “I would like to thank all of our staff for making this possible and for freeing up precious operational dollars in the future for educational services to students and our communities.”

The Yuba Community College District spans eight counties and nearly 4,200 square miles of territory in rural, north-central California. It has colleges in Marysville and Woodland, an educational center in Clearlake, outreach operations at Beale Air Force Base and in Williams, and will be adding an outreach facility in Sutter County as part of the Measure J facilities bond.

For more information about YCCD visit www.yccd.edu.