Gerlach Schools Go Solar for the Holidays
December 18 2007 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Burning Man, MMA Renewable Ventures, Sierra Pacific Power
Collaborate for Community Clean Energy GERLACH, Nev., Dec. 18
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Students in Gerlach will be celebrating a
"green" Christmas because their campus will soon be powered by
renewable energy. An array of solar panels installed at the campus
is expected to generate up to 162,000 kilowatt hours of electricity
annually for the next 25 years. The total energy savings over that
time period is expected to surpass $480,000. The approximately
$20,000 per year savings will directly benefit the students and
faculty of the rural school, according to the Washoe County School
District. Gerlach's new 90-kilowatt, photovoltaic, solar power
system resulted from a pioneering collaboration between Sierra
Pacific Power, Burning Man, MMA Renewable Ventures, SCHOTT Solar
and the Washoe County School District. The SCHOTT Solar panels were
installed at no charge to the school district through a combination
of donated labor and materials and Sierra Pacific's
SolarGenerations rebate program. "The Burning Man community has
long been a part of the Northern Nevada community, and when this
opportunity to give something back came up we jumped on it,"
explained Marian Goodell, board member of Black Rock City, LLC.
Representatives from the town of Gerlach, the school district,
Burning Man, Sierra Pacific and MMA Renewable Ventures will
celebrate the completion of the ground-mounted solar array on
Tuesday, Dec. 18. The installation consists of three 30-kilowatt
solar systems, and they provide nearly enough electricity to supply
all of the energy needed for the campus, according to Bruce
Deetken, energy manager for the school district. The Gerlach campus
consists of three schools that serve 83 students from kindergarten
through high school. "The solar panels will give our students good
insight into the different ways we can address global warming
issues with renewable energy," said Gerlach Principal Carol
Kaufmann, adding that she is working with the Desert Research
Institute in Reno to incorporate the solar project into their
science curriculum. "Because Gerlach is somewhat isolated, it is
difficult to provide the students with the same opportunities
afforded to students in other parts of Washoe County," Kaufmann
said. "That's another reason why this is a great opportunity for
us." Tuesday's event will also premiere the Burning Man
organization's plans, through the Black Rock Solar project, to
install several more solar projects in northern Nevada in
cooperation with Sierra Pacific and the SolarGenerations program.
Rebates for schools and public buildings participating in the
program amount to $5 per watt of installed solar energy. "Our goal
is to build low or no cost solar systems for communities that
otherwise might not develop them, and to build high-profile
projects that help speed the adoption of solar energy in Nevada,"
added Tom Price with Black Rock Solar. Project costs will be
partially offset by a $450,000 rebate provided through the
SolarGenerations program established by the Nevada State
Legislature in 2003 to encourage Nevadans to install solar energy.
The program is administered by Sierra Pacific Power in northern
Nevada and Nevada Power Company in Las Vegas. "Thanks to our State
Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, our
state has one of the most aggressive programs in the nation to
encourage solar energy," Sierra Pacific Program Manager John
Hargrove said. "We are excited to join with Black Rock Solar in
helping schools and public facilities to go green and save money on
their energy bills." Engineering expertise and labor for the
Gerlach project was provided free of charge by Black Rock Solar, a
nonprofit project of Black Rock City, LLC, which produces the
annual Burning Man event in the Black Rock Desert north of Gerlach,
and by Brooks Engineering, one of the leading experts in PV system
design. MMA Renewable Ventures, a leading clean energy project
finance firm, provided the solar electric equipment. The Gerlach
solar energy system celebration follows on today's dedication
ceremony for another MMA Renewable Ventures project in Nevada, a
14-megawatt system at Nellis Air Force Base that is now the largest
photovoltaic array in North America. "This collaboration for solar
energy in Gerlach is an extension of our philosophy that renewable
energy should be cost effective and accessible to all in this
country, from the largest corporations to the smallest rural
towns," said Matt Cheney, CEO of MMA Renewable Ventures. "We are
proud to be helping the community with a reliable source of clean
energy and helping Gerlach's schools focus their resources on their
children." Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: Tuesday December 18, 2007, at
noon, 555 East Sunset Boulevard in Gerlach. Images and video
available upon request. About Burning Man The annual art event
known as Burning Man, which began on a beach in San Francisco in
1986, has grown to attract more than 47,000 participants annually,
from every state of the Union and twenty-two countries worldwide.
For the last seventeen years, the increasingly popular and
influential event has been held in the Black Rock Desert outside of
Reno, Nevada. Based on corporate accounting and participant survey
data, it is estimated that Burning Man contributes almost $20
million annually to the northern Nevada economy. For more
information, visit http://www.burningman.com/. About MMA Renewable
Ventures A subsidiary of Municipal Mortgage & Equity, LLC
"MuniMae," (NYSE:MMA), MMA Renewable Ventures finances, owns and
operates renewable energy and energy efficiency assets in the
United States. The Company provides leases, Power Purchase
Agreements (PPAs) and other customized financial solutions to help
its customers manage energy costs. MMA Renewable Ventures is
dedicated to delivering competitively priced, clean energy and
energy savings to customers, strong partnership options for project
developers, and exceptional opportunities for institutional
investment in the clean energy sector. For more information about
MMA Renewable Ventures, visit http://www.mmarenewableventures.com/.
About Sierra Pacific Power Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, Sierra
Pacific Power Company is the principal utility for most of northern
Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area of California. It is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources (NYSE:SRP), which also is
the holding company for Nevada Power Company, the electric utility
for southern Nevada. Sierra Pacific Power also distributes natural
gas in the Reno-Sparks area of northern Nevada. For more
information, visit http://www.sierrapacific.com/. About Black Rock
Solar Black Rock Solar is a non-profit project of the Burning Man
community, focused on addressing climate change and speeding the
adoption curve of renewable energy. By installing renewable energy
at low or no cost, Black Rock Solar puts much needed funds in the
hands of communities typically not served by the renewable energy
industry, who then get to decide how to best meet their own needs.
Along the way, Black Rock Solar creates educational opportunities
for volunteers and beneficiaries, and sponsor training to broaden
the solar power industry. Future projects will also include
installation art that explore these themes. For more information
visit http://www.blackrocksolar.org/. About SCHOTT Solar SCHOTT
Solar, a division of the worldwide technology company SCHOTT, is a
worldwide leading supplier to the solar industry. SCHOTT Solar
manufactures expert solutions in photovoltaics, thin-film, and the
receivers used in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants. Worldwide
production is complimented by a 15MW PV manufacturing facility in
Billerica, Mass as well as a sales office in Roseville, CA. The
SCHOTT group employs approximately 17,000 employees who achieve an
annual turnover exceeded 2.5 billion USD. The company's
technological and economic expertise is closely linked with its
social and ecological responsibility.
http://www.us.schott.com/solar DATASOURCE: MMA Renewable Ventures
CONTACT: Karl Walquist of Sierra Pacific Power, +1-775-834-3891; or
Tom Price of Black Rock Solar, +1-801-712-5371, Dec. 18th only:
+1-775-376-6698; or Josh Camire of Burning Man, +1-415-238-0117; or
Rosalind Jackson of MMA Renewable Ventures, +1-415-977-1923 Web
site: http://www.renewableventures.com/ http://www.burningman.com/
http://www.sierrapacific.com/ http://www.blackrocksolar.org/
http://www.us.schott.com/solar
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