Tucson Hebrew Academy gets solar boost with help of TEP and SAZ COEJL

Bruce Plenk, George Villec and Dale Mitchell install a solar panel at Tucson Hebrew Academy on March 18.

DEBORAH MAYAAN
Special to the AJP

As the summer sun pounds down on Tucson, it’s doing more than just heating things up. Tucson Hebrew Academy is now harvesting this abundant natural resource through a solar demonstration project with Tucson Electric Power.

In the spring of 2004, Laura Pinnas, a TEP employee and former chair of the Southern Arizona Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, suggested that SAZ COEJL apply for a grant to install panels somewhere on the Volk Jewish Community Campus that houses the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, the Tucson Jewish Community Center, and THA. SAZ COEJL had been involved in many educational programs, says Pinnas, and she thought it was important to progress to “actually doing something concrete for the environment.”

One July afternoon, Michael Jacobson, vice chair of SAZ COEJL, walked the Federation campus with Josh Protas, who serves as staff liaison for SAZ COEJL as part of his job as director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. They found the perfect location on the south side of THA. The site, notes Pinnas, a former THA student, offered opportunities not only for teaching science, but also Jewish ethics. As one action to help prevent or even possibly reverse global warming, installing the panels would contribute to tikkun olam, the repair of the world, and also save THA money, says Pinnas.

After scouting the site, Jacobson and Protas began the process of applying for the GreenWatts program in which TEP supplies photovoltaic panels. There were many issues to settle before the panels went up, including having a structural engineer approve the plan and dealing with zoning and flood plain issues, as well as who would maintain the panels (SAZ COEJL’s installer). “I owe a lot to Josh. He had the tenacity to keep pushing the paper,” says Jacobson.

On Feb. 13 , Jacobson, along with George Villec and Dale Mitchell of GeoInnovation, “broke metal” and began installing the first five panels. Over four months, Jacobson, GeoInnovation staffers, and volunteers recruited by Jacobson installed all 20 panels on awnings at THA. They connected the system late in the afternoon of May 3, and it currently generates about 20 kilowatt hours per day, providing 5 percent of THA’s electricity needs, says Jacobson.

After doing so much behind-the-scenes work on the project, “it was rewarding to have a hands-on connection” through being part of the team installing the panels, says Protas. A formal unveiling after the start of the school year will highlight the educational benefits of the project, says Protas.

Tucson Hebrew Academy has been including more environmental teaching in its science curriculum, and this project demonstrates the power of cooperation between organizations, says Susan Kaplan, chair of SAZ COEJL.

TEP also has programs to help homeowners go solar. When homeowners consider solar panels, the first questions are usually cost and payback time. A homeowner can expect to pay about $8,000 for a  basic solar electric system after rebates and credits, says Villec of GeoInnovation. The up-front cost of a system that will meet 50 percent of the electric needs of the typical home is about $20,000. The system takes about a week to install, and within eight weeks the homeowner will receive a rebate of $9,000 from TEP. When filing taxes, the homeowner will receive a $1,000 credit from the state and $2,000 from the federal government. If electric rates rise at a gradual 5 percent a year, the system will pay for itself in 12 years, says Villec. If the rates rise more steeply, the payback time is even shorter, he says. A homeowner may also choose to invest in more panels and batteries to store electricity for use during night or shady times, and have the potential to meet all their own electric needs, says Villec.

A homeowner considering making changes that will help the environment should be aware that the average solar electrical installation offsets the greenhouse gases produced by a car in a year, says Villec. Water use is also reduced, since power plants use water in their cooling towers. The panels reduce the need for home cooling since they provide secondary shade when installed on a roof, says Villec.

Homeowners  who do not have enough savings to cover start-up costs can still have photovoltaic panels installed by renting a system through a new company, SolarForRent, says local representative Ray Scott. The only up-front cost is a $500 deposit, and the monthly rental fee is approximately the same as their former electric bill.

The system takes advantage of net metering, in which homeowners receive a credit from TEP when they are producing more electricity than they need. That credit offsets the cost of electricity used at night or on shady days. People served by other local electric companies have more limited options for rebates for energy generation at this time, but that may change with proposed national solar legislation that will require all utility companies to provide net metering, says Scott.

More than electric needs can be met by solar power. Light itself is a solar product, and skylights — which can cut down the need for electric lights — can be installed for as little as $450, says Chad Waits, product sales manager at the Solar Store. Solar hot water heaters typically pay back the investment in five to eight years. A solar heater for a pool is comparable in cost to a gas one; if a homeowner has an existing gas heater, installing a solar one will typically pay back its investment in 12 to 18 months, says Waits.

Reflecting the growing interest in solar technology, the president of the Solar Store, Katharine Kent, was among the 25 people U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords picked earlier this month for a new council to advise her on the use of solar energy in order to make Southern Arizona a world leader in the solar industry.

Deborah Mayaan is a freelance writer and energy work practitioner based in Tucson. www.deborah mayaan.com.

Resources:
GeoInnovation: 615-3883, www.geoinnovation.com
SolarforRent: 762-9683, Solarforrent.net
Solar Store: 322-5180, www.solarstore.com
Sustainable Tucson: www.sustainabletucson.org
In addition to solar, the organization lists nine other steps to increase sustainability.