Pier 96 houses Norcal Waste Management Company’s recycling operation, which processes 2,100 tons of glass, metal, plastic and paper recyclables collected in San Francisco daily. In January 2007, the SFPUC installed a solar power system at Pier 96, providing clean, renewable energy for the Recycling Center. The system can produce up to 245 kilowatts peak, equivalent to the power required to supply 156 typical San Francisco homes.

The Pier 96 location has unique characteristics favorable for solar power panels: a southern sloping roof, enabling the system to collect more energy from the sun, and a location by the Bay, keeping the panels cooler so that they can generate power more efficiently.

In 2008 the SFPUC plans to double the size of Pier 96’s solar system with the installation of an additional solar array at the site. The combined capacity of the two solar arrays at Pier 96 would be enough to power more than 300 typical San Francisco residences, and could provide over 20% percent of the recycling center’s energy needs.

SFPUC Project Manager Paul Bonitz surveys
Pier 96 solar installation