Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity's building is now partially powered by the sun. Green Mountain Energy Company, Texas' first competitive retail electric provider to offer cleaner energy, donated $140,000 to Dallas Habitat to fund its first solar array system. The new 47.52 kilowatt solar panel system is mounted on Habitat's roof and will help reduce the building's energy use and carbon footprint, as well as educate visitors about the benefits of solar energy.
"We are thrilled to fund this solar array for Dallas Area Habitat, an organization dedicated to creating affordable housing opportunities, revitalizing neighborhoods and building green homes," said Paul Markovich, president of residential services, Green Mountain Energy Company, in a press release. "Green Mountain has been serving customers throughout the Dallas Metroplex since 2002. Donating solar systems like this one helps us give back to the communities where our customers live, work, shop and play, while supporting our mission to 'change the way power is made.'"
The solar array is the first-ever installed on the office building and ReStore location for any Habitat for Humanity affiliate in the U.S. There are more than 1,500 separate affiliates of Habitat for Humanity in the U.S. alone. The array's 176 large photovoltaic solar panels cover approximately 4,000 square feet and will convert sunlight into electricity, producing approximately 62,000 kilowatt hours of clean energy annually. It is estimated that the solar array will save Dallas Habitat more than $286,000 over the course of its 30-year lifetime.
The solar array will also have a positive impact on the environment. It is expected to avoid 68,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. That is equivalent to more than 2,800 houses turning off all their lights for one day, or not driving 75,000 miles, or recycling 27,000 pounds of newspaper.
Green Mountain funded Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity's new solar array through its Sun Club, a unique program in which Green Mountain's Texas customers can choose to support solar energy installations in Texas by contributing an additional $5 on their monthly Green Mountain Energy electricity bill. The Sun Club's mission is to fund, build and promote solar power in Texas while assisting organizations with a socially responsible focus to reduce their environmental footprint.
"We are grateful to Green Mountain for providing this opportunity to make our office more energy efficient and reduce our environmental footprint," said Bill Hall, CEO, Dallas Area Habitat, in a press release. "We are proud that the new homes we build are Energy Star certified, LEED certified and EPA Indoor Air Plus and thanks to the generosity of Green Mountain we are now able to apply some energy efficiency to our offices and enjoy some energy savings."
Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity is the City of Dallas' largest homebuilder and largest green builder, having constructed more than 80 percent of all LEED Certified homes in Dallas. To date, Dallas Habitat has built more than 100 LEED-certified homes and expects to complete a total of 300 LEED Certified homes by the end of 2012. Dallas Habitat recently announced a partnership with Solar Energy Solutions to retrofit over a dozen Habitat homes with solar panels. Dallas Habitat's green building initiatives enhance the long-term affordability of its homes by reducing electricity costs to Habitat homeowners and helping reduce Habitat's overall environmental footprint.
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