PEORIA, AZ--(Marketwire - May 17, 2010) - Like many businesses in Arizona, Theater Works Executive Director Jack Lytle was constantly seeking new ways to save money and reduce their company's monthly utility bill. At the center of the group's budget concerns was a $9,000 per month electricity bill required to power stage and facility lighting systems for daily rehearsals and community performances. Theater Works needed a way to reduce their electric bill.
Luckily for the group, Susan Daluddung, one of the Theater Works Board of Directors and a Peoria Deputy City Manager, had been working closely with Mayor Bob Barrett's Sustainability Action Plan (SAP). She suggested the use of solar power to reduce or eliminate their electric bill by using free solar electricity and Arizona's net metering system to spin their electricity meter backwards.
Even with Arizona's healthy solar incentives, the size and expense of installing a solar power system large enough to offset the facility's monthly electric bill would be too expensive for the non-profit group. But when the group put out a casting call to search for solar power vendors, a cast member named Theresa Fricker was there to move solar power onto center stage. Her husband, Mike Fricker, is part owner of Salt River Solar & Wind (www.saltriverenergy.com), one of Arizona's largest solar installation companies.
A big believer in giving something back to the community, Salt River Solar & Wind's management team quickly agreed to donate sufficient labor and solar power panels to install an 11.28-kilowatt solar power array worth $62,000 dollars. A solar site survey was conducted; a solar permit was issued; and the solar power array is being installed in May.
"Solar energy is a large part of the city's sustainability initiative," said Peoria Mayor Bob Barrett. "This project demonstrates how government, non-profits, and the private sector can partner for the good of the community. I want to thank Salt River Solar & Wind for their generosity."
"The more rooftops that are utilizing solar energy to produce free electricity, the cleaner and greener our environment will become," said Mike Fricker, Salt River Solar & Wind's CEO. "All our customers say the thing that they enjoy the most is opening up their electricity bills each month to see how much money they are saving."
To celebrate Peoria's continued move toward sustainable building practices and rooftops that generate clean energy, Mayor Bob Barrett, Theater Works Executive Director Jack Lytle, Salt River Solar & Wind's Owner/General Mike Fricker and almost one hundred aspiring young actors will be attending a Solar Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on May 19th at 10:00 am at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts located at 8355 W Peoria Ave, Peoria AZ 85345.
Contact Information:
Contacts:
Tim Precourt
Salt River Solar & Wind
(623) 975-2313
Sherine Zaya
City of Peoria
(623) 773-7338