The Challenge:

The Food Bank was faced with two challenges:

The Food Bank’s significant energy costs have a direct correlation to the number of meals the Food Bank can provide to those in need; reducing energy costs means more meals for individuals and families across San Diego County.

1. Offset the high electrical cost of operating an 80,000 square foot warehouse facility along with the additional costs associated with running huge freezer rooms and a new industrial-sized composter.
2. Achieving Gold LEED certification.

Switching to solar was a critical component of an ambitious capital improvement project designed to help the Food Bank reach its Gold LEED objective. Founded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is the stringent eco and sustainability standard by which building design and construction are measured in the U.S.

The Solution:

Baker Electric Solar experts worked closely with Food Bank senior management and its facilities director, to develop a clear understanding of its day-to-day operational, financial and LEED objectives. The result was the design of a state-of-the-art 1400 panel solar system covering over 80,000 square feet of roof.

San Diego-area philanthropists, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, donated $1M toward the cost of the Food Bank’s solar system. In addition, the Food Bank will also receive $90,000 annually from the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE) over the course of five years, a total of $450,000. This due to the organization’s ability to meet its energy use reduction targets.

 

The Result:

The Food Bank’s Baker Electric Solar system is yielding annual energy cost savings of $120,000. This savings enables 600,000 more meals per year for San Diegans in need. In addition, a significant step was made toward the achievement of the Food Bank’s goal of LEED certification.

“As a part of our recent capital improvement project,  our  350  kW  solar  system  provides  a major  contribution  toward  our  goal  of becoming LEED certified,” said Casey Castillo, VP of Finance and Administration of the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank.

Today, the Food Bank’s commitment to live with renewable energy, recycle, conserve water and other green initiatives is tracked via a monitor in the building’s lobby. There, visitors, employees and volunteers can view in real-time the metrics that clearly show the positive impact the Food Bank is making on its immediate and surrounding environment every day.

In addition to a continuum of programs and services, Interfaith Community Services operates a variety of needs-based housing options for low-income families. This project included installation for 84 Interfaith Community Services multi-family housing units in both Escondido and Oceanside, some roof-mounted and some carport-mounted. The project has an estimated annual production of 179,878 kWh of energy – which is equivalent to about 65% of the multi-family housing sites’ current electric usage. The project savings are approximately $22,00 per year in electricity costs.

 

The Challenge:

Meziere Enterprises was faced with one important challenge:

-Reduce high overhead energy costs to remain competitive within their market.

Meziere Enterprises based in Escondido since the early 1970’s, is no stranger to the cost of powering a manufacturing business in San Diego.   When asked why they were considering solar, company partner Don Meziere shared, “To be competitive, we need to do everything we can to reduce overhead for the long run.  Manufacturing is heavily dependent upon electric power and we know we can count on Escondido to be sunny most of the time.”

Meziere knew switching to solar was the optimal solution for getting ahead of continually escalating electric rates.  The anticipated savings would be re-invested into the heart of the business enabling innovation and a solid competitive position.

 

The Solution:

Meziere’s leadership decided to go solar in order to do what’s best for their company. After a serious vetting process, they chose Baker Electric Solar. The decision was based on parent company Baker Electric, Inc.’s 75+ years of electrical contracting experience and its dedication to delivering the best customer service in the industry.

The Result:

Baker designed and installed a 171kW rooftop solar system for Meziere’s 25,000 square foot facility to meet their financial and energy-saving goals. The cooling system manufacturer sees a 60-70% reduction in its annual electricity spend based on past consumption. Meziere’s solar system saves them roughly $60,000 in energy costs per year. The system is comprised of 531 solar modules with 10 inverters.

The Meziere solar system is expected to provide more than $1.97M in net savings over the 25-year warranted life of the solar modules.

According to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, Meziere’s new solar system saves the equivalent of annual greenhouse gas emissions from 460,831 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle. It offsets CO2 emissions from 21,636 gallons of gasoline consumed or 205,182 pounds of coal.

Baker Electric completed the first phase of installation for this 345 kW solar system on the rooftop of the Gateway Chula Vista center (Mountain West project). Phase 2 includes PV installation on top of their parking structure and is scheduled to be completed in March of 2015. The Gateway Center is the first large commercial project to use the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program to install solar. The system is made up of 1,054 solar panels and will power approximately 90% of its electricity!

Realty Income, a 42 year old publicly traded real estate company dedicated to paying dividends to its shareholders, is focused on investing in real estate that possesses the right return on investment. When analyzing solar for their corporate headquarters in Escondido, CA, the same analysis process concluded that solar was a great investment. The 74.5 kW system utilizes the entire non-shaded portion of the roof, including the area that houses the mechanical equipment. The solar system offsets a substantial portion of Realty Income’s electrical usage, and is a hedge against escalating utility costs.