SF Environment, PG&E Donate Solar Power System
(December 13, 2007)
Non-Profit Able to Distribute an Additional 70,312 Meals a Year with Energy Savings
SAN FRANCISCO -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the San Francisco Department of the Environment (SFE) and the San Francisco Food Bank celebrated the unveiling of the non-profit's new state of the art solar system today. PG&E's Hyun Park and Jared Blumenfeld of SFE joined San Francisco Food Bank Executive Director Paul Ash in the celebration where community members could see live readings of the new system's power generation and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided. PG&E's hybrid bucket truck, the first on the West coast, was on hand to raise attendees up to view the large solar system.
"Pacific Gas and Electric Company is proud to partner with the San Francisco Food Bank by donating this solar installation which helps reduce green house gas emissions.' said Hyun Park, senior vice president and general counsel of PG&E. 'By creating successful partnerships like this, our goal is to stimulate interest and confidence in the use of solar photovoltaic systems for a wide variety of applications."
PG&E donated $215,000 to install a solar photovoltaic system for the Food Bank as part of its $7.5 million commitment to increase solar power in San Francisco. To complement this effort, the City's Environment Department granted $75,000 towards the solar system and an additional $22,000 towards energy efficiency measures at the San Francisco Food Bank. According to Jared Blumenfeld, "The food security that the SF Food Bank provides its clients can now be achieved in a way that helps the city meets in climate change goals. The energy savings will help feed more people 'that's a real win!"
The 57.6 KW 320 panel system was installed by Sun Light and Power and the project was managed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The system is expected to produce more than 57.6 KW/115,000 kWh hours of clean, renewable energy that will have zero greenhouse gas emissions. Roughly 288,000 lbs of CO2 will be avoided from being emitted annually and over 9 million lbs of CO2 will not be emitted over the systems' life.
The solar system will save the Food Bank $15,000 a year on energy costs and more than $450,000 over the lifetime of the system. Because of this savings, the Food Bank will be able to distribute an additional 90,000 lbs of food a year, which translates to 70,312 additional meals for the underserved communities of San Francisco.
"We're extremely grateful to PG&E and the City for their generous contribution to the greening of the Food Bank," said Paul Ash, Executive Director of the San Francisco Food Bank. "This new solar system will help us conserve valuable resources, and with the savings in energy costs we will be able to supply tens of thousands of additional pounds of food to hungry San Franciscans."
A longtime supporter of the Food Bank, PG&E donated the land that the Food Bank sits on in 1994. During 2007, PG&E employees volunteered 1,053 hours at the San Francisco Food Bank. PG&E teams sorted, packed, and gleaned more than 211,130 pounds (over 100 tons) of food in 2007. That work provided more than 168,900 meals to individuals and families in San Francisco.
This visible solar installation showcases one approach that is available to residential and commercial property owners interested in integrating solar systems on their buildings.
PG&E has interconnected more than 17,000 customer-owned solar-generating systems to the power grid representing more than 110 megawatts and more than any other utility in the nation. In San Francisco, PG&E has helped interconnect almost 500 of these solar systems, the most of any Northern California city. In just the past 24 months, PG&E has interconnected nearly 6,900 customers representing 61.5 megawatts of solar power. PG&E has also provided close to $210 million in rebates to nearly 450 customers through California's Self-Generation Incentive Program and California Solar Initiative (CSI). Through the CSI, PG&E has the potential to provide an additional $950 million in solar incentives.