Rockies Solar - A Powerful Partnership
The solar photovoltaic (PV) installation at Rockies, Home of the Morro Bay Teen Center and Skate Park, was made possible through a partnership between the City, Estero Bay Solar Solutions (EBSS), and a few generous solar equipment manufacturers.
Donations & Discounts
EBSS business owner and solar installer, Brian French, originally proposed to donate a small PV system as an educational tool for the public and students that use or visit the facility. After considering the proposal, the City expressed interest in contributing to the project to expand the system to a size that would be capable of producing the building’s entire annual electric usage. Working with a limited budget, EBSS was able to secure a combination of donations and discounts by soliciting interest from a few select solar equipment manufacturers. These contributions greatly reduced the costs to be shared with the City. After also taking into account all of the benefits, the City then funded and approved the full scale project.
Donations and discounts were received from SolarWorld, ProSolar, Quick Mount PV, and Miner’s Ace Hardware. The system consists of 23 SolarWorld 260 Watt panels (for a total system rating of 5.98 kilowatts) installed on ProSolar rails and attached to the building via Quick Mount PV’s roof mounts. Electrical components were purchased at the Miner’s Ace Hardware store in Morro Bay, where some of the costs were offset by a donation from Miner’s.
Donations & Discounts
EBSS business owner and solar installer, Brian French, originally proposed to donate a small PV system as an educational tool for the public and students that use or visit the facility. After considering the proposal, the City expressed interest in contributing to the project to expand the system to a size that would be capable of producing the building’s entire annual electric usage. Working with a limited budget, EBSS was able to secure a combination of donations and discounts by soliciting interest from a few select solar equipment manufacturers. These contributions greatly reduced the costs to be shared with the City. After also taking into account all of the benefits, the City then funded and approved the full scale project.
Donations and discounts were received from SolarWorld, ProSolar, Quick Mount PV, and Miner’s Ace Hardware. The system consists of 23 SolarWorld 260 Watt panels (for a total system rating of 5.98 kilowatts) installed on ProSolar rails and attached to the building via Quick Mount PV’s roof mounts. Electrical components were purchased at the Miner’s Ace Hardware store in Morro Bay, where some of the costs were offset by a donation from Miner’s.
Education Potential
The educational potential of the project, coupled with the facility’s purpose to provide a beneficial option for after school activities for students really appealed to French and the manufacturers that participated in this project. French, a father of 10 year old twins, commented, “This project not only resulted in a great example of solar energy potential in our community, it also provided an opportunity to contribute to a program I highly regard and one our kids will be benefiting from when they attend Morro Bay High School.” Mark Ammerman, Vice President of Sales at Quick Mount PV also stated, "Nothing provides a better solar education opportunity than seeing a real PV system in action. We are honored to have been selected by EBSS to contribute to this most worthy effort."
Cost Savings
After the system was installed and activated, Recreation and Parks Superintendent Mike Wilcox observed, “During the first month of operation, we actually generated more electricity from the solar PV system than the building needed.” The system is expected to save approximately $45,000 over the 25 year warranty period on the solar components.
View how Rockies solar system is performing today!
The educational potential of the project, coupled with the facility’s purpose to provide a beneficial option for after school activities for students really appealed to French and the manufacturers that participated in this project. French, a father of 10 year old twins, commented, “This project not only resulted in a great example of solar energy potential in our community, it also provided an opportunity to contribute to a program I highly regard and one our kids will be benefiting from when they attend Morro Bay High School.” Mark Ammerman, Vice President of Sales at Quick Mount PV also stated, "Nothing provides a better solar education opportunity than seeing a real PV system in action. We are honored to have been selected by EBSS to contribute to this most worthy effort."
Cost Savings
After the system was installed and activated, Recreation and Parks Superintendent Mike Wilcox observed, “During the first month of operation, we actually generated more electricity from the solar PV system than the building needed.” The system is expected to save approximately $45,000 over the 25 year warranty period on the solar components.
View how Rockies solar system is performing today!