en.Wedoany.com Reported - The solar system built by ForeFront Power for the Northeast Surface Water Treatment Plant in Fresno, California, has entered commercial operation, utilizing Erthos' Earth Mount Solar system. This technology places photovoltaic modules directly on the ground surface, allowing developers to eliminate all costs associated with procuring and installing structural steel.
ForeFront Power approached Erthos in 2023, when inflation and supply shocks had driven up labor and material prices, making the project's payback period unattractive for the City of Fresno.
Erinne Davis, Senior Project Manager at ForeFront Power, stated that after completing due diligence and reviewing Erthos' technology, the company determined that the Northeast Surface Water Treatment Plant was an ideal application site for this technology. Erthos helped them avoid costly large-scale civil upgrades, as well as the costs of steel for racking and installation labor, and the savings from the installation phase made the project viable.
The solar system is part of a portfolio of solar and battery storage projects that ForeFront Power is developing for the Fresno Department of Public Utilities (DPU) at three sites. In addition to the Northeast Surface Water Treatment Facility, the other two sites are the Southeast Surface Water Treatment Facility and the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. The three DPU projects total 27 MW-DC and are expected to save ratepayers more than $122 million by 2045.
Since the Erthos system entered commercial operation in late March 2026, it has averaged 101% of expected generation output and has delivered 862 MWh of electricity to the city, exceeding expectations. ForeFront Power and Erthos are continuing to work together to optimize system performance.
In addition to saving on structural steel material and labor costs, the Erthos system's architecture also delivers higher generation capacity per unit area. With no row spacing, this technology achieves the highest energy density of any photovoltaic architecture in the industry. The Erthos Earth Mount Solar system can also accommodate terrain with slopes of up to 15%, and despite the modules being laid flat on the ground, it conforms to the natural topography of the Fresno site.
ForeFront Power and Erthos have entered into an energy services agreement under which Erthos is responsible for solar system maintenance, including periodic cleaning of the photovoltaic arrays using its proprietary ErthBot photovoltaic array cleaning robot—an automated dry nylon brush cleaning robot.
