City of Tucson expands solar leadership with 3.3 megawatts of solar installed to date

NOVATO, CA – Seven new solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems installed at City of Tucson facilities are coming online in Tucson, Arizona. The new 2.3 megawatt (MW) DC rooftop and carport systems – developed by SPG Solar and interconnected by Tucson Electric Power (TEP) – span downtown Tucson, including the Tucson Convention Center, providing combined $6.2 million net revenues over 25 years.

This project shows the City of Tucson's commitment to sustainability by providing the community with up to 60 green jobs during time of construction, two student internships, and clean renewable energy. These latest projects build on Tucson's first phase of solar, which was 1 MW of solar – including both rooftop and single axis tracking systems - developed by SPG Solar in 2009.

"This largest City solar project was made possible with low-interest Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, Tucson Electric Power's renewable energy credits and made easy by SPG Solar's experience and range of solar services," said Doug Crockett, City of Tucson Energy Manager. "We've basically initiated a municipal-owned solar utility which will generate net revenues to fund future energy efficiency and deferred maintenance projects on city facilities."

SPG Solar capitalized on its design and engineering experience, providing the City with optimized rooftop and carport solar power systems at the Tucson Convention Center, Rincon Golf Links, Hardesty, Randolph, Crime Lab, and two locations at TOPSC. The power generated at each site will offset, on average, 55 percent of the electricity used at each location.

"The City of Tucson has become a committed, long-term solar partner," said SPG Solar CEO Chris Robine.

"They presented us with a challenge to maximize the amount of solar electricity the City could generate; so we capitalized on our years of experience to design, engineer, build and maintain a set of solar power system that will deliver the best return on investment."

TEP will provide financial incentives to the City of Tucson through the company's customer-funded large commercial solar program, which will reduce installation costs. The systems' output will help TEP work toward the renewable energy goals established by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC).

"We're very pleased to be working with the City of Tucson and SPG Solar on these systems, which will produce clean, green energy for city facilities using one of Arizona's greatest natural resources – sunshine," said Carmine Tilghman, TEP's Director of Renewable Resources. "We expect to dramatically expand our solar generating capacity to more than 200 MW by the end of 2014 through a combination of company-owned resources, privately developed projects and distributed generating systems like the ones installed by the City of Tucson."

The latest 2.3 MW system will produce nearly 4 million kilowatt hours the first year, which is equivalent to powering 350 average American homes annually.

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About SPG Solar
SPG Solar is a leading national solar energy company providing the highest quality and most reliable distributed solar power systems to large commercial, industrial, governmental and public energy users. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, SPG Solar has been delivering optimized solar energy solutions to its customers for over a decade. SPG Solar provides the best products and services to clients from the SPG Solar SunSeeker® Tracker, a leading single axis tracker, generating more solar power, to SPG Solar Structured Finance, a team providing a full array of financial resources and expertise. With over 70 megawatts installed coast-to-coast, SPG Solar is a proven solar partner. For more information on SPG Solar and distributed solar power, please visit www.spgsolar.com.

About Tucson Electric Power
TEP provides safe, reliable power for more than 402,000 customers in the Tucson metropolitan area. TEP was recently recognized as one of the top ten solar electric utilities in the nation for per-capita additions to its solar energy portfolio, according to the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). TEP was also recognized by SEPA with a Solar Business Achievement Award for its innovative Bright Tucson Community Solar Program, which allows customers to purchase solar energy directly from their utility. For more information, visit tep.com.