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Faith-Based Groups Believe In Benefits Of Solar

It appears faith-based organizations in California are increasingly adopting renewable energy, with at least three local groups having recently gone solar.

Baker Electric Solar has designed and installed a 216 kW rooftop solar system consisting of 864 Hyundai 250 W panels with 13 Solectria inverters on two buildings for the Jewish Family Service (JFS) of San Diego.

According to Baker, the agency will see a 70% reduction in its annual electricity bills based on past consumption and will save an estimated $76,000 in energy costs in the first year. The JFS Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus is located at 8788 and 8804 Balboa Ave. in San Diego.

Solar savings will go directly toward funding JFS programs that serve local citizens. The JFS of San Diego was founded in 1918 by the “Jolly Sixteen,” a group of 16 women who were committed to making a difference in people’s lives. Today, the organization has grown into a premier human services agency in San Diego serving more than 20,000 individuals, families and older adults.

“As a Jewish agency, we are guided by the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam - a concept defined by acts of kindness performed to perfect or repair the world. We are committed to being a responsible steward of our community, environment and planet,” states Guinevere A. Kerstetter, chief financial officer of the JFS of San Diego.

“When combined with the California Solar Initiative rebate of more than $147,000, the solar system will provide more than $2.5 million in net savings to the agency over the 25-year warranted life of the solar modules,” says Scott Williams, Baker’s director of commercial solar. “It’s great to know these funds will help and feed many people over the years.”

Elsewhere in San Diego, Stellar Solar has completed a 125.5 kW installation at San Rafael Parish. The PV system features 408 LG 315 W modules, complemented by SolarEdge monitors and inverters, and the project consists of four separate installations across the church campus.

Monsignor Dennis L. Mikulanis, pastor of San Rafael Parish, explains the church’s goals: “Frankly, we see solar energy as an important example we can set: to be good stewards of God’s earth.”

He adds, “Our energy costs have also continued to rise, of course, and that impacts our ministries directly. We serve over 3,100 families in our parish, and the savings we expect to see in the next few months will help us to serve more of our parishioners and serve them more effectively.”

With a fairly large campus in Rancho Bernardo, San Rafael Parish paid almost $100,000 in electricity costs last year. By deploying rooftop solar on four buildings, the parish’s annual bill is expected to shrink by almost 75% to less than $25,000.

“At that rate, we expect this investment will pay for itself in savings very quickly,” states Mikulanis.

In Chino, Calif., Ra Power & Light has designed and installed a 191 kW rooftop solar system for CrossPoint Church, a Christian Reformed Church. The installer says the project’s 767 Hyundai solar modules will produce roughly 60% of the church and preschool’s annual electricity needs.

In addition, CrossPoint, whose Chino facilities total 70,000 square feet, is expected to generate peak energy worth more than $61,000 the first year, says Ra Power & Light CEO Michael Campbell. “Doing business with faith-based organizations who give so much back to local communities is a privilege,” adds Campbell.

“Our energy-related operating costs have continued to go up,” comments John Voortman, CrossPoint board president. “Switching to solar was the right choice because of the economics, as well as doing our part in the community to become environmentally responsible.”

 

2.3 MW Landfill Project Goes Online In Wisconsin

Alliant Energy says its utility customers are now receiving clean power from the 2.3 MW Rock River solar project, which recently went into service near Beloit, Wis.

The project includes over 7,700 solar panels and covers nearly 17 acres on landfill property owned by Alliant Energy. The utility collaborated with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to enable the landfill site to be reused for the solar facility.

Alliant Energy signed a 10-year power purchase agreement with Hanwha Q CELLS USA, which owns and operates the project, and the deal includes an option to buy the facility at the end of the contract.

“Investments in clean energy have been central to our plan for decades,” says Patricia Kampling, Alliant Energy’s chairman, president and CEO. “Solar is an important part of our future energy mix and one of many ways we are following a path of sustainability and stewardship.”

 

Elephant Sanctuary Flips Switch On Solar Project

The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is now powering its 2,300-acre ARK 2000 natural habitat refuge in San Andreas, Calif., with solar energy.

A new 132 kW solar system provides electricity to offices, elephant barns and buildings that serve the sanctuary’s eight Asian and African elephants, as well as bears and big cats, rescued or retired from circuses, zoos and the exotic pet trade.

A total of 420 solar panels sit atop the roofs of the 20,000 square-foot Asian elephant barn and an 8,000 square-foot bull elephant barn, supplying 97% of the sanctuary’s electricity. California-based SUNWorks installed the system, and PAWS says it will save an estimated $1.5 million in electricity costs over 25 years.

“With this solar energy system, PAWS will dramatically reduce the amount of fossil-fuel-generated power we use and set an example of good environmental stewardship,” states PAWS President Ed Stewart. “PAWS is committed to providing a better life for captive exotic animals, as well as conserving our planet and its wildlife.”

 

College Resurrects Town’s Stalled Solar Effort

Williams College and the Town of Williamstown, Mass., have signed an agreement that moves forward a previously stalled solar energy project that will provide renewable energy to town facilities, the fire district and the regional school district. Williams College says the project aligns with the college’s climate change response plan goals to support local and regional renewable energy projects.

Under the terms of the agreement, Williams College will invest approximately $6 million to complete construction of a 1.9 MW solar array on the capped town landfill on Simonds Road. Williams College says the town began the project in 2014 with a commercial developer, but after initial designs and studies were completed, the need for major infrastructure upgrades rendered the project economically unfeasible for the developer.

After speaking with Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch, the college began exploring ways to assist, and as a result of Williams’ lower return requirements and commitment to local renewable energy, the college says it was in a position to get the project back on track.

“We had reached a point where the installation as originally planned was no longer financially viable and faced the difficult prospect of abandoning the project altogether,” comments Hoch. “Williams’ interest came at precisely the right time to allow us to proceed with this important solar facility that will benefit all of Williamstown.”

Williams will provide the initial $6 million investment to construct the project. The college says it is seeking a tax equity partner that would co-own the solar array and provide $2 million toward the project during the final stages of construction.

Williamstown will use energy from the array to power all of its municipal buildings and the fire district building and streetlights, as well as facilities of the regional school district. According to Williams College, the discounted clean power will provide both savings and price stability to the town’s energy budget by locking in a long-term price for electricity at less than half the price the town currently pays. The town will also receive no fewer than 20 years of structured property tax revenue from the landfill, a property that otherwise generates no tax revenue for the community.

“We’re delighted to partner with Williamstown in restarting this solar project,” says Williams College President Adam Falk. “As the college moves forward with a wide-ranging set of initiatives to help address the global climate change crisis, we’re pleased to be able to invest in renewable energy right in our own community.”

The college has selected EOS Ventures of Hancock, Mass., to serve as the development consultant for the project, and the company will undertake full oversight of all development and construction activities.

 

State-Backed Project Offsets Power For Stewart’s Shops

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and developer EnterSolar have announced the completion of a 1.85 MW solar installation designed to offset up to 75% of the power used by 17 Stewart’s Shops locations in upstate New York.

The project, which uses remote net metering, was built off-site in Halfmoon and supported by almost $1 million in funding from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s NY-Sun initiative. According to NYSERDA, NY-Sun has accelerated the growth of solar across the state, with the amount of solar power installed and in development under the initiative increasing 575% from 2012 through 2015.

“We are pleased to complete this, our second initiative with Stewart’s Shops,” comments Paul Ahern, president of EnterSolar. “They are a true partner that recognizes the financial, as well as environmental, benefit of capturing the power of renewable energy. Knowing that solar energy will keep Stewart’s Shops ice cream cold all summer just makes the project that much sweeter.”

In 2013, NYSERDA, EnterSolar and Stewart’s Shops announced the installation of a 600 kW system atop Stewart’s 300,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center in Greenfield Center. NYSERDA says the installation saves Stewart’s Shops approximately $40,000 a year in energy costs and offers environmental benefits the equivalent of taking 80 cars off the road.

“Just as we have a commitment to giving back to our communities, we are committed to making our communities greener,” states Nancy Trimbur, senior vice president at Stewart’s Shops. “We’re happy to partner once again with EnterSolar and their efforts in encouraging sustainable energy practices. The solar project they completed at our Greenfield plant in 2013 has been a shining success, and the future looks bright for this latest opportunity to be more eco-friendly.”