El Monte, CA – June 23, 2010
Cathay Bank is installing 2,128 solar panels at its L.A. corporate center at 9650 Flair Dr. and expects to reduce energy costs by 40%, or about $9000 per month. The bank has awarded the contract for the job to Los Angeles-based PermaCity Solar, which will design and construct a 432.5-kilowatt solar electric system atop a custom-engineered carport. The solar panels, from PermaCity Solar’s partner Sch co, are estimated to generate 695,181 kilowatts annually.
PermaCity Solar worked with the architectural firm Gensler, which recently designed and managed the renovation of the Cathay Bank Corporate Center, and EcoMotion, a renewable energy consulting firm. The carport will provide covered parking for approximately 300 bank customers and staff.
Cathay Bank has already incorporated environmentally conscious construction and operational elements, such as waterless bathroom fixtures and recycled paper, into its Corporate Center making PermaCity Solar’s energy solution a natural fit. By installing a solar carport, the bank is not only reducing its dependence on energy from fossil fuel sources, but also attaining an attractive return-on-investment coupled with additional monetary savings in the form of generous state rebates and federal tax incentives.
Jonathan Port, PermaCity Solar president and CEO, points out that the new solar energy project will offset an estimated 1,411 barrels of oil and reduce 494 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere, which he described as “the equivalent of planting 2,364 trees per year.” Construction of the solar carport is scheduled to be completed by September.
http://www.globest.com/news/1687_1687/losangeles/300514-1.html