Tecta Solar, a division of Tecta America Corp., recently completed the installation of a 2,248 kWp solar photovoltaic system in Coachella, California. The ground-mounted project, located on the Augustine Band of the Cahuilla Indian reservation, is an expansion of a 2008 project.

The total installed capacity on site is 3,348 kWp, making it the largest tribal owned solar photovoltaic system in the country.

In its first year of operation, the systems are projected to generate a total of 5,763 MWh of energy, which is equivalent to powering 854 average California homes for a year.

Tecta Solar managed every phase of the project, including design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the ground-mounted project which features 9,772 PV modules. The project employed 20 full-time workers from Southern California in green collar construction jobs.

"Tecta was honored to have been selected to develop and install this system as part of the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians' continuing commitment to environmental responsibility," says Samir Dube, Managing Director of Tecta Solar.

"An estimated 3,206 metric tons of CO2 emissions will be avoided each year which is equivalent to removing 2,305 cars from the road for a year thanks to the solar energy produced by the system. We are proud to have worked with one of the most forward looking tribes in the nation and deliver one of the largest net metered projects in the country."