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$3 million saved in electricity with a solar panel system will pay for 6 million meals

When it comes to community service organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank, operations are often lean in order to funnel as many resources back to the people that need them most.  So, we were thrilled to hear about a new solar power system for Second Harvest in San Jose, California.  A rooftop solar panel installation of a 230 kW photovoltaic (PV) system includes 1100 solar modules which will generate enough free solar electricity to save the food bank $3 million over 25 years.

$3 million is pretty impressive, but consider this: the cash saved by the organization will pay for an additional 6 million meals for deserving families in the community!

Solar panels installed on the Second Harvest Food Bank rooftop

The solar power system was installed by DRI Energy, which donated its services, on the 1.25 acre roof of Second Harvest Food Bank.  Payment for the rooftop solar panels was helped through a generous donation by Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and the donation of high-efficiency solar modules by SunPower Corp.

The CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, Kathryn Jackson, spoke about the new solar power system:

“Second Harvest’s solar installation was made very easy by virtue of the care and professionalism of the DRI Energy team. DRI Energy was responsive to our questions, thoughtful in terms of planning the installation and flawless in terms of execution.  DRI Energy staff went out of their way to accommodate our needs throughout the process. We can’t speak highly enough of DRI Energy and the job that their team of professionals did on behalf of the food bank.”

On the other hand, DRI Energy was equally excited about lending a clean energy hand to the Second Harvest Food Bank.  Steve Kelley, Executive VP commented:

“Our core values include working with integrity and doing what we say we will do in the safest way possible.  Helping Second Harvest Food Bank achieve savings of over $3 million is what our company commitment is all about.”

Clean, green projects like these are where communities can really shine!