Carlsbad is working with consultants and industry experts to build a solar energy farm on 30 to 40 acres the city owns at the Maerkle Reservoir. The Carlsbad Municipal Water District recently completed a feasibility study and is on track to select a development partner by the end of the year, Intergovernmental Affairs Director Jason Haber said Tuesday at a meeting of the Carlsbad City Council, which oversees the water district.
'We are better served as a community to create what we can locally, rather than depend on ... glorified extension cords to get power from where it's created in the boonies,' Christiansen said. Benefits would include a source of renewable energy, additional revenue for the water district, lower rates for water consumers, and resiliency from the natural disasters that threaten other power sources, he said. 'This has the makings of the backbone of a microgrid,' he said.