Drawn to the Sun: Drew Ford, Kaiser Permanente Detail Solar Systems

On one side of town, Drew Ford officials threw the switch on a $600,000 solar-power system.  On another, Kaiser Permanente patients and staff parked beneath 4,480 photovoltaic panels that the health-care provider expects to generate 1.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

And at Grossmont Center, Earth Day 2011 was celebrated with displays, seed giveaways and an informational booth.

Friday morning at the La Mesa Boulevard dealership, General Manager Bill Drew and President Joe Drew posed with a display check for $132,272—representing the savings the oldest family owned dealership in the county expects over five years.

Bill Drew said its photovoltaic system—which took Southwestern Solar Systems six months to install (delayed a bit by the December deluge)—will reduce its $20,000-$25,000 a month electric bill by as much as 30 percent.

Solar costs “have progressively come down to the point where it made good business sense,” he said.

It will take seven to nine years to make up the investment, but the Drews called the system a “hedge against inflation in electricity.”

The California Center for Sustainable Energy, represented by distributed generation manager Terry Clapham, issued a rebate check for more than 13 percent of the system cost during a press conference at the dealership near the state Route 125/Interstate 8 intersection.

“Using clean solar energy is one of the ways our business can contribute to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and educating our customers and neighbors about the benefits of solar,” said Bill Drew. “This also takes pressure off the grid during peak hours of the day.

“Furthermore, it makes economic sense because we will save on our dealership’s utility costs and recover nearly 70 percent of the investment through tax credits and depreciation.”

Covering 15,270 square feet, six carports 15 feet high create a shaded area for customers and support the 864 photovoltaic panels made in Otay Mesa by Siliken Solar, said the dealership.

Robert Odelson, project manager for Kaiser Architecture and Construction, detailed an even larger system—1.030 kilowatts—behind clinic offices at 8080 Parkway Dr.

Kaiser’s array, also mounted on carports and taking up 75,000 square feet, will save the equivalent of 1,152 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, Odelson said.

Work began on the Kaiser photovoltaic system in September 2010—by Swinerton Inc., with help from Neal Electric—and was completed exactly two months ago—Feb. 22. The system was switched on March 3, Odelson said.

He said the company’s Kaiser-Zion Medical Center in San Diego “and maybe the clinic in Otay Mesa” also will get photovoltaic systems.