Three San Diego County Churches Help Combat Climate Change, Reduce Electricity Costs with KYOCERA Solar

Sullivan Solar Power Installs 153kW of Kyocera Solar Modules at St. Patrick Catholic Parish in North Park, St. Bartholomew’s in Poway and Paradise Valley Church in National City

San Diego – March 23, 2015 – Kyocera Solar, Inc. and Sullivan Solar Power teamed up to equip three San Diego County churches with solar systems that include Kyocera high-efficiency modules and SMA inverters, helping the non-profits save precious electricity costs and combat climate change at the same time. The three systems total approximately 153kW and will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in electricity costs over the next 20 years while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The three systems include both roof-mounted and carport installations and help offset up to 100 percent of the churches’ electricity costs using solar power, allowing precious non-profit funds to be used directly for the organizations’ missions rather than administrative costs. The recently installed solar systems include:

St. Patrick Catholic Parish in North Park – The parish recently declared energy independence with a 26.9kW solar shade structure and roof-mounted solar power system. The system will help save $160,871 over the next 20 years, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2.2 million pounds. St. Patrick’s also received a $23,926 nonprofit rebate for the solar power installation through the California Solar Initiative, which reduced the parish’s out-of-pocket costs for the solar power system.
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Poway – A spiritual leader in the Poway community since 1960, St. Bart’s recently installed a 56.7kW solar power system that produces 8,619 kilowatt-hours each month, which offsets 100 percent of the facility’s electricity usage. More than 128,000 pounds of carbon emissions will not enter the atmosphere each year as a result of the solar project. The church’s facilities are used six days a week by various community members and organizations throughout the year.
Paradise Valley Church in National City – The church established its recently installed 69kW solar powered system in December with 320 locally manufactured Kyocera solar panels. The project will offset 80 percent and 97 percent of the church’s consumption on two separate meters with projections to save more than $328,676 over the lifetime of the system. In addition to the monetary savings, more than 168,400 pounds of carbon emissions will not enter the atmosphere each year as a result of the solar installation.

Kyocera recently announced involvement in the world’s largest floating solar installation and a power purchase agreement to power multiple municipal buildings in the town of Parker, AZ.

“Kyocera has enabled some of the largest solar installations in the world, but we’re especially gratified when smaller businesses – especially the approximately 1.5 million non-profits in the U.S. – leverage solar power,” said Cecilia Aguillon, Director of Market Development for Kyocera Solar. “California leads the nation in solar initiatives but I’d like to see more non-profit companies realize the incentives the California Solar Initiative has offered for them, which can make a substantial difference to their organizations. These three churches are leading by example and we’re proud Kyocera Solar’s proven reliable solar modules will be helping to enable their good work for decades.”

“These churches are environmental stewards who believe in our vision to change the way this world generates electricity,” said Daniel Sullivan, Founder and President of Sullivan Solar Power. “They are making an impact locally, and will hopefully inspire other churches to go solar.”

Kyocera is the only solar module manufacturer to earn the highest rating across all six PV module test categories in GTM Research’s July 2014 PV Module Reliability Scorecard.