SOLAR PANELS POWER SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK - PG&E donation enables Food Bank to purchase additional 168,000 meals for the underserved
13 December 2007Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the San Francisco Department of the Environment (SFE) and the San Francisco Food Bank today unveiled the non-profit’s new state of the art solar power 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 panels.
“Pacific Gas and Electric Company is proud to partner with the San Francisco Food Bank by donating this solar installation, which will allow the Food Bank to devote more resources to helping our community, while also helping our environment,” 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.”
The solar energy 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.
PG&E donated $215,000 to install solar photovoltaic panels for the Food Bank as part of its $7.5 million commitment to increase solar power in San Francisco.
Earlier this year, PG&E donated solar power systems to the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and to Project Open Hand.
To complement this effort, the City’s Environment Department granted $75,000 toward the solar panels 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 meet its 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.
Approximately 53,000 lbs of CO2 emissions will be avoided annually and over 1.5 million lbs of CO2 emissions will be avoided over the system’s life.
“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 power 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 18,000 customer-owned solar-generating systems to the power grid – representing more than 150 megawatts and more than any other utility in the nation.
PG&E has also provided more than $200 million in solar rebates 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.
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PAT MURPHY
Sentinel Editor & Publisher
In his youth, Pat Murphy worked as a General Assignment reporter for the Richmond Independent, the Berkeley Daily Gazette, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He served as Managing Editor of the St. Albans (Vermont) Daily Messenger at age 21. Murphy also launched ValPak couponing in San Francisco, as the company’s first San Francisco franchise owner. He walked the bricks, developing ad strategy for a broad range of restaurants and merchants. Pat knows what works and what doesn’t work. His writing skill has been employed by marketing agencies, including Don Solem & Associates. He has covered San Francisco governance for the past ten years. Pat scribes an offbeat view of the human family through Believe It or What. Email Pat Murphy at SanFranciscoSentinel@yahoo.com.
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