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Tucson Church Saves with Solar

Tucson, AZ- April 17, 2012- St. Philip’s In The Hills Episcopal Church is celebrating the completion of their solar power system. Installed on three covered parking structures, this project was made possible by a generous gift from dedicated parishioner Dr. Donna Cosulich. The solar system allows the church to save money and make a public statement about their commitment to being responsible stewards of the world. It will serve as an example to the parishioners that protecting the environment is simple, practical and cost effective.

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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Technicians for Sustainability 2012 Solar Grant Open Applications

Tucson, AZ – February 1, 2012 – Technicians for Sustainability (TFS) is proud to announce the opening of our 2012 Solar Grant application process. Starting immediately we will be accepting applications until March 21, the Spring Equinox.

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:

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TEP 2012 Incentive Q&A

The solar industry in Tucson has been experiencing a number of changes regarding the TEP utility incentives. We are happy to keep you in the loop: below you will find answers to some common questions.

Is there still money for solar? The incentive for solar electric (photovoltaic) systems in Tucson Electric Power (TEP) service territory has been reduced from $0.60 to $0.55/watt due to high demand. In just the first month of this year, 25% of TEP’s annual solar incentive budget was reserved. At the beginning of May 50% of the annual budget was reserved, dropping the incentive just $0.05. This reflects the fact that over 675 systems have been reserved so far in 2012, most of which are solar electric systems.
Where will TEP’s incentive go from here? The new $0.55/watt incentive will remain until 75% of the annual budget is reserved. If this happens within 30 days of the latest drop (May 3rd), the incentive will drop to $0.35/watt. If it happens within 60 days, the incentive will drop to $0.45/watt, and if it happens after 60 days, but before November 1st, the incentive will drop to $0.50/watt.
What does this tell us? The first incentive drop indicates that there was pent up demand from the fall, when no incentives were available, and that at the $0.75/watt incentive level, solar was a good enough deal that many people were motivated to install systems. At the $0.60 level, solar remained a great deal under the leasing model. We expect it to remain a good opportunity at the $0.55/watt level under the leasing model, with systems paying for themselves in less than 10 years. The customer-owned systems will take between 10 and 13 years to pay themselves off at this current incentive level.
More questions? Call us at 520.740.0736

Swim, Bike, Run – Powered by the Sun

Tucson, AZ- January 13, 2012: TriSports.com, Tucson’s very own triathlon, cycling, running and swimming gear shop, is now generating up to 100% of their electricity from solar power. The 128 kW solar electric (photovoltaic) system, designed and installed by Technicians for Sustainability, consists of two solar arrays mounted on custom built steel shade structures and [...]

520-740-0736: Turning Values Into Action Since 2003

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