St. Philip’s dedication to solar power and the environment is not a new commitment. The St. Philip’s Green Team has been investigating and enacting ways for the church to ‘green’ their image since 2005. The Green Team was founded by Dr. Cosulich who passed away this January after seeing solar become a reality for St. Philip’s. The Green Team’s goal is to “explore the wonder of our world, addressing our roles as citizens and people of faith as we wrestle with potential global climate change.” In addition to supporting the new solar system, the Green Team sponsors educational forums on environmental topics, publishes a “green tips” brochure and has many other programs designed to bring attention to ways parishioners can make small changes to ‘green’ their lives.

Bruce Plenk, Solar Energy Coordinator for the City of Tucson, said: “It’s great to see churches join with the City of Tucson, doctors’ offices, veterinarians’ offices, bookstores, pizza places, office buildings and many homes in Tucson in going solar. Congratulations to St. Philip’s In The Hills, its Green Team and Technicians for Sustainability on the completion of this wonderful solar project.”

The financial savings will be immediate for St. Philip’s. The church acquired the project through a lease, leaving them to collect the savings each month. Over the course of 20 years, the church will see over $500,000 in cumulative utility savings.

Designed and installed by Technicians for Sustainability, St. Philip’s 160 kW solar electric (photovoltaic) system is estimated to generate 24,000 kWh per month. The system consists of 522 SunPower modules and will provide over 90% of the entire facility’s electricity needs, encouraging the church to take further energy saving measures. The system has the added benefit of offering shaded parking to visitors, improving the quality of the St. Philip’s experience.

In keeping with their desire to be stewards of the environment, St. Philip’s new solar structures will save 24,100 lbs of coal and 12,050 gallons of water from being used to generate electricity each month. Their new source of electricity also prevents 53,670 lbs of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere each month. According to the Rev. Dr. Tom Lindell the solar array “will keep on giving … not only in a significant savings in electrical costs but also in the long-term benefit to our fragile ecosystem of avoiding putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels.”

St. Philip’s will be celebrating the completion of their system on Sunday, April 22nd with a dedication and Earth Day ceremony. Please join them at 12:15p.m. after the last morning service to celebrate their great accomplishment and dedication to the environment and God.

About St. Philip’s In The Hills

St. Philip’s strives to be “a strong and loving community that welcomes, encourages, and empowers all to grow in Christ and to do God’s work in the world.” Through our vision invitation, “come and see … grow with God … go and do,” we invite all persons, regardless of demographic factors and faith expectations, to experience God, to learn and be formed spiritually, and to develop their individual gifts with which to serve God in the world through St. Philip’s more than 90 active ministry groups and programs. More information is available on our web site: www.stphilipstucson.org

About Technicians For Sustainability

Technicians For Sustainability (TFS) is a locally owned, mission-driven business, committed to walking their talk.  They provide businesses, public institutions, and residential homeowners with high quality, clean, renewable energy systems, helping to translate environmental values into practical reality.  The company employs proven technologies to meet customers’ specific needs, including solar electricity, solar hot water heating, and water harvesting.  TFS has installed over a megawatt of solar power in southern Arizona.  For more information about Technicians For Sustainability visit www.tfssolar.com

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The TFS grant program is funded by 1% of our revenue to help non-profit groups install renewable energy systems.  This program includes both matching grants as well as full grants.  The matching grant calculates the retail cost of the system, subtracts the utility rebate, and then TFS pays for 50% of the remaining amount.  The full grant calculates the retail cost of the system, subtracts the utility rebate, and then TFS pays for 100% of the remaining amount.

The grant is open to nonprofits in Tucson, AZ who qualify as 501(c)(3) and who share our values of sustainability.  You can find more information about the solar grant itself, past grant recipients and the application materials on our website: www.tfssolar.com/about-us/community-involvement/.

About Technicians For Sustainability:

Technicians For Sustainability (TFS) is a locally owned, mission-driven business, committed to walking their talk.  They provide businesses, public institutions, and residential homeowners with high quality, clean, renewable energy systems, helping to translate environmental values into practical reality.  The company employs proven technologies to meet customers’ specific needs, including solar electricity, solar hot water heating, and water harvesting.  TFS has installed over a megawatt of solar power in southern Arizona.  For more information about Technicians For Sustainability visit www.tfssolar.com.

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The addition of this solar system at TriSports.com reaffirms the company’s dedication to sustainable practices.  The 128 kW solar system saves 18,560 lbs of coal from being burned each month and 41,400 lbs of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.  Perhaps most importantly, the TriSports.com solar array will save approximately 9,280 gal of water each month as compared to traditional electricity generation. This fact is often overlooked but is extremely significant in the Sonoran Desert where we live.

Sustainability has always been a goal of TriSports.com and solar is just the latest addition to a larger integration of sustainable practices.  Seton Claggett, CEO of TriSports.com, shared this, “Three years ago I told our staff and our vendors that we would be on solar within the next 5 years, and here we are.  This is a large investment for us but it is the right thing to do for our environment, our staff, our customers, our  vendors and for our future generations.” TriSports.com has two large rainwater cisterns that collect and store up to 36,000 gallons of water at a time, which is then used to irrigate the landscaping. The company also made the switch to energy efficient lighting with their latest  renovations, which significantly reduces their electricity consumption.

Not only was installing their solar system an environmentally-conscious decision, but it also makes sense from a financial standpoint.  The  TriSports.com system will offer a four and a half year payback period, a 10% rate of return, and for the first twenty years the solar system will  save the company over $467,000.

Bruce Plenk, the City of Tucson’s Solar Coordinator, congratulates TriSports.com on their new solar system.  “I am impressed with the foresight and leadership of Tucson businesses like TriSports.com who have chosen to be leaders in installing solar using their sunny rooftops as well as their parking areas to generate electricity, reduce our urban heat island and save their business money. This is a wonderful example that I hope other Tucson businesses will see and follow. Thanks to TriSports.com for showing the way to a solar future in our Solar America City!”

About TriSports.com

TriSports.com is an industry leader in triathlon, swim, bike and run retail, starting out of the home of Seton and Debbie Claggett in April 2000.  Eleven years and two moves later, TriSports.com occupies 32,000 square feet of retail, warehouse and office space with 50+ employees.  TriSports.com is more than just a retail presence, however; the company is also very involved with growing the sport through partnerships with races, clubs, teams and other endeavors, like being a founding member of Triathlon America, as well as being actively involved in the local Arizona community. TriSports.com also has a non-profit company, TriSports Racing, which puts on the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival, certified as a silver-level green event through the Council for Responsible Sport, and is a founding member of their Community of Practice, an effort to ensure the future of sports in a sustainable way. TriSports.com has been recognized as one of Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work (2009 & 2010); by Triathlete Magazine as one of Triathlete’s Best Places to Work (2010); as one of the top 100 bike shops in the US by the National Bicycle Dealers Association (2010 & 2011); as a top 10 triathlon store by Triathlon America (2011); by Comerica Bank as one of Arizona’s 50 Companies to Watch (October 2008); as one of BizAZ’s Top 35 Entrepreneurs Under 35 (June 2008); by Wells Fargo with their Copper Cactus Award for Business Growth (October 2005); and as Arizona’s Greenest Workplace by Mrs. Green’s World (October 2011).  Learn more about TriSports.com online at www.TriSports.com/info.html.

About Technicians For Sustainability

Technicians For Sustainability (TFS) is a locally owned, mission-driven business, committed to walking their talk.  They provide businesses,  public institutions, and residential homeowners with high quality, clean, renewable energy systems, helping to translate environmental values into practical reality.  The company employs proven technologies to meet customers’ specific needs, including solar electricity, solar hot water heating, and water harvesting.  TFS has installed over a megawatt of solar power in southern Arizona.  For more information about Technicians For Sustainability visit www.tfssolar.com.

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The two Blink electric vehicle charging stations have been installed near the solar canopies at Brooklyn Pizza Company and Sky Bar on Fourth Ave. These charging stations added to a growing number around town which are being installed as an effort to create infrastructure for electric vehicles. This initiative is part of a $99 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) stimulus grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  Pima Association of Governments Clean Cities program signed on to the initiative in March 2009. “We are so proud to be a part of Brooklyn Pizza Company’s success of being the first commercial public charging station that is solar powered”, stated Colleen Crowninshield of PAG’s Energy Programs.

Although there are public charging stations installed under the DOE program at local places like Bookmans and Thoroughbred Nissan, these are the first electric vehicle charging stations in Arizona to connect solar power to electric vehicle charging. Electric vehicles offer independence from imported oil, as well as significantly lower transportation costs. Combined with renewable energy, they also offer an attractive alternative to fossil fuel based transportation.

The Level 2 (240 V) charging stations, which offer a full charge in just a few hours, were installed by Ecotality, in partnership with the Electric Vehicle Project, and the Pima Association of Governments (PAG). Ecotality won the DOE contract to install 200 level 2 stations in Arizona by January 2012. Sites were selected with the assistance of PAG.

According to Tony Vaccaro, owner of Brooklyn Pizza and Sky Bar, the charging station parking spots are open to any electric vehicles whose owners wish to park in the lot and charge their vehicles while on Fourth Avenue. Visitors can plug in while they shop or top off while they dine.

Robert Clingaman, of Tucson LEAF Owners, a local electric vehicle owners group, says his group plans to gather to recognize this company’s dedication to solar power and to celebrate the installation of the two Blink charging stations in November.

About Brooklyn Pizza Company

Established in 1996 on Tucson’s historic 4th Avenue, Brooklyn Pizza Company quickly became a local favorite. It provides top notch pizza in a happy, fun, and lively environment. Their goal is to make every dining experience an enjoyable one, with prompt service, high quality food, and fair prices. www.brooklynpizzacompany.com

About Technicians For Sustainability

Technicians For Sustainability (TFS) is a locally owned, mission-driven business, committed to walking their talk. They provide businesses, public institutions, and residential homeowners with high-quality, clean, renewable energy systems, helping to translate environmental values into a practical reality. The company employs proven technologies to meet customer’s specific needs, including solar electricity and solar hot water heating. TFS has installed over two megawatts of solar power in southern Arizona. For more information about Technicians For Sustainability visit www.tfssolar.com

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On the Web:

Contacts:

Located on an old adobe home at 352 E 25th St, the 18 panel solar array is a visual reminder of how solar is spreading in southern Arizona, even to places as unlikely as a soup kitchen. The cost for the project was around $22,000, with $7,750 offset by TEP’s incentive program, Sun Share. Casa Maria Soup Kitchen was also awarded a solar grant, worth over $7,000, through Technicians for Sustainability (TFS), a local solar installation company. The rest of the system costs were made up through private donations resulting in an entirely free solar array for Casa Maria.

“Solar in Tucson is not limited to huge public installations or large homes. We are a DOE Solar America City because of the strong solar community that has developed in Tucson. One important aspect of that community is helping non-profits go solar. This solar grant program from TFS is a good demonstration of the strength of the Tucson solar community”, says Bruce Plenk, City of Tucson Solar Coordinator.

The newly solar powered soup kitchen subsists entirely off of private donations, and manages to feed hundreds of hungry Tucsonans daily. The significant utility savings resulting from the solar energy production will free up approximately $36,000 over the solar array’s 30 year life span, helping the kitchen to dish out its mission to the many needy individuals served each day. According to Casa Maria volunteer, Jerry Gill, “This solar system gives us an opportunity to extend our commitment to serving the poor with justice and in harmony with the earth. We already participate in recycling day old food donated by various food stores and restaurants, as well as used clothing from different private donors. We also grow some food of our own. Now, not only will we be able to save a considerable sum of money, but we will lessen our carbon footprint at the same time.”

About Casa Maria

Casa Maria’s mission as part of the lay Catholic Worker movement, founded in 1930 in New York City by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, is to practice daily the love and compassion of Jesus and to implement the teachings of his Sermon on the Mount by being in solidarity with the poor. At Casa Maria they are committed to acts of mercy, voluntary poverty, pacifism and to the work of justice for the poor.

At their Free Kitchen, they daily serve lunch to 600 single persons, many of whom are homeless, and they provide a family food bag to more than 200 families who are on the edge of poverty. They also have a free Medical Mobile Clinic twice every week, a program for Vaccines for Cats and Dogs, and offer American Citizenship Lessons in Spanish and leadership and Community Organizer Training also in Spanish. Brian Flagg has been the director of Casa Maria for over 25 years.

About Technicians For Sustainability

Technicians For Sustainability (TFS) is a locally owned, mission-driven business, committed to walking their talk. They provide businesses, public institutions, and residential homeowners with high-quality, clean, renewable energy systems, helping to translate environmental values into a practical reality. The company employs proven technologies to meet customer’s specific needs, including solar electricity and solar hot water heating. TFS has installed over two megawatts of solar power in southern Arizona. For more information about Technicians For Sustainability visit www.tfssolar.com

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On the Web:

Contacts:

Social Actions

Amity has provided treatment services to the men, women, and children of Tucson for over 42 years. Intent on addressing the needs of the most marginalized individuals of our society, particularly substance abuse treatment and all of its attendant issues: poverty, prejudice, violence, trauma, homelessness, and family restoration, Amity has been at the forefront of efforts to lead individuals into transformational change using the Teaching and Therapeutic Community (TC) model. Amity firmly believes that sustainable living is not only integral to personal responsibility, but also integral to the future of our global community.

Amity descended from the Tucson Awareness House (TAH), incorporated in 1969 to address the crisis of narcotic use amongst local adolescents, and later evolved to meet community needs.  In the mid-80’s TAH changed its corporate name to Amity and is the oldest, dedicated substance abuse treatment agency in Arizona.

From 1980 through today, Amity has allowed children of parents receiving residential treatment to live with them, and was one of the first treatment programs in Arizona to recognize the need to allowing children to stay with their mothers.

Environmental Actions

* Amity Foundation has implemented an energy and resource conservation program. In 2007, Amity Foundation took the lead among Therapeutic Communities in practices promoting environmental sustainability. After analyzing the agency’s vehicle gas expenditures, the findings prompted us to trade in most of the leased vehicle fleet in favor of fuel-efficient hybrid models.

* Amity also integrated a greywater system to irrigate its Tucson campus’ 55-acre, natural desert landscape, and are working to ensure that new construction on Amity campuses meet LEED’s Gold standard for certification. Light bulbs throughout the campus were changed to either LED or energy-saver bulbs, reducing the campus electric bills by nearly 40%.

* During 2010, Amity lead more than 300 participants through the Awakening the Dreamer: Changing the Dream symposium, a half-day workshop designed to awaken and inspire people to take action in pursuit of a fair, peaceful, and sustainable future.

* Amity recently installed recycling receptacles in its dining room and offices, to enhance recycling efforts. Commercial recycling bins have been on the campus since 2007. Bottled water is no longer purchased through our food services department, and the back part of the property is being prepared for gardening to supply the campus with organic produce.

* Additionally, preparations are being made to send faculty and students to papercrete workshops in hopes of integrating this sustainable construction into future renovations.  All students and faculty are encouraged to practice sustainable living in their own homes, and environmental sustainability has been added to all employee awareness training.

Social Efforts

Coyote TaskForce is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in May of 1989 dedicated to improving the lives of individuals living with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) throughout Pima County. Our Place Clubhouse and Café 54, housed within the same building at 66 E. Pennington, work hand in hand to provide a spectrum of essential services in which members are involved every step of the way. In order to support members in upholding our mission, branches of Coyote TaskForce have been created specializing in key areas.

Based on the Fountain House Model of Rehabilitation, Our Place Clubhouse members take on the bulk of running day to day operations of four units comprised of:  (1) Re-Threads Thrift Store, (2) Employment and Education, (3) Food and Kitchen and (4) Resource and Advocacy. Members of the Clubhouse also work together to write articles for and produce a monthly newsletter, ‘Free Spirit’.

Community members enrolled in a behavioral health program may apply to become trainees at Café 54. In our award winning training program, trainees work with job coaches and a job developer to learn essential restaurant skills as well as general employment skills.  We aim to assist trainees to become independent, tax-paying citizens and to provide the community at large with a pool of reliable employees who have had training and firsthand experience working in a quality restaurant setting. Reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness by shifting focus from disabilities to abilities is a key objective of Café 54.

Environmental Efforts

Coyote TaskForce has long demonstrated their commitment to the environment. In 1998 the organization purchased and renovated its current Our Place Clubhouse building, constructed in the 1930’s and located in the heart of downtown Tucson. At that time, Coyote TaskForce secured a state grant focused on refitting the building with energy efficient  heating, cooling, and lighting systems.

The 54 Green Team is comprised of individuals who care deeply about the environment and feel a strong responsibility to use natural resources wisely and efficiently. The 54 Green Team mission includes:

1. Raising awareness and educating members and staff about sustainable practices

2. Forming relationships with local organizations in support of environmentally sound practices

3. Consistent re-evaluation of internal use of resources and brainstorming of new ways to realize our environmental values

4. Researching and purchasing environmentally friendly products

These goals are implemented in the following ways:

* Food waste has been reduced through the implementation of a chicken feed program coupled with creative, yet appropriate, use of leftovers. Our chefs frequently partner with Marana Farm, using locally grown produce and teaching summer sessions on the topic of food security. We are currently strategizing with Marana Farm to develop a compost program.

* Recycling is a priority at Coyote TaskForce with frequent informational sessions being facilitated with members and staff. All glass, cardboard, and tin products used in our programs are recycled and Café 54 uses compostable take out containers, cups and utensils.  In the spirit of conservation, Re-Threads thrift store offers quality used clothing.

* All tips from Café 54 go towards the Art Foundation, which provides free art materials to individuals in the behavioral health community and encourages its recipients to re-purpose available items into their projects.

* Café 54 has also recently contracted with Native Seeds to weigh and package seeds.

* In addition to these efforts, Coyote TaskForce employees take steps towards a sustainable future in their own lives by using bicycles as their primary mode of transportation, with still more utilizing Sun Tran bus services.

Solar Open House

We understand and appreciate that each of our customers serve as an inspiration to their community by doing their part in creating a sustainable future.  Often, our customers  find that neighbors, friends, family, and co-workers are curious about how their new solar PV system works, the cost, current financial incentives, environmental benefits, etc.

In conjunction with our community outreach, TFS will arrange a fun and informative Open House where we will feature your system and explain the “ins and outs” of solar energy. Simply invite your guests, and TFS will provide a “Solar For Homeowners” presentation, a tour of your system, refreshments, and personalized Q & A.  If you would like more information, contact our community outreach coordinator, Tiernay Marsh, at (520)740-0736 or tiernay@tfssolar.com.

Solar Energy 101

We’ve created a one-hour grassroots education program to inform our fellow community members about solar technology and sustainability. The focus of this program is to inform consumers about the facts of residential solar energy.

The program features free educational presentations, web resources, and targeted information to assist homeowners in making decisions about investing in a solar energy system. If you are interested in having TFS as a guest speaker, contact our community outreach coordinator, Tiernay Marsh, at (520)740-0736 or tiernay@tfssolar.com.

Do you have a referral? Click here to fill out our customer referral form.

For a brief listing of local non-profits working hard to make Southern Arizona a great place to live, please click here.