Fountain Valley Offices Plug Into Solar Power

Arden Realty Inc., which owns 142 office buildings, unveiled an acre of solar panels on the roofs of its two-building Fountain Valley City Centre complex Wednesday as part of its effort to lower energy costs and secure a reliable source of power.

Arden, based in Los Angeles, has been a big proponent of using alternative sources of power. It is testing technologies like microturbines, solar panels and combustion engines that run on clean-burning fuels such as natural gas.

In Fountain Valley, the photovoltaic power system, believed to be the largest private commercial solar-energy system in the Western Hemisphere, will supply 15% to 20% of the complex's normal electricity consumption, company officials said.

The solar-energy system will be used during times of low power reserves or high prices, the company said.