SAN PEDRO, CA-The Port of Los Angeles has completed a 71,500-square-foot, one-megawatt power plant on the roof of the World Cruise Center here that is the first of a multiple-location system designed to produce 10 megawatts. The new solar plant is capable of generating approximately 1.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

The solar photovoltaic installation, which is expected to result in an annual $200,000 energy cost savings, is the first phase of a multi-location, $10.8-million solar power program that will include a total of 1.16 million square feet of rooftop solar panels, larger than the size of a football field. Three additional project phases are slated for completion over the next five years.

Over the solar system's lifetime, it will reduce roughly 22,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere, the equivalent of cutting the annual greenhouse gases of 4,367 cars, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The system is composed of 5,140, 210-watt solar modules. It was installed by the Energy Alternatives Division of San Jose-based Cupertino Electric Inc.