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September 14, 2016

Church Going Solar


Taken from the National Catholic Reporter

St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church is one of the latest churches in San Diego County to go solar with the installation of a 64.83kW solar system. The church has gone solar in partnership with Sullivan Solar Power, who have a Catholic Solar Program.

The goal of the Catholic Solar Program is to help parishes and parishioners in the Catholic Diocese of San Diego save money, fundraise for the parish and create a healthier and safer environment.

"St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church has demonstrated its environmental stewardship by generating clean solar energy," said Daniel Sullivan, founder and president of Sullivan Solar Power. "The savings from this system will help the church further invest its resources into serving the people of Valley Center and Pauma Valley."

St. Stephens serves the community with a parish membership of over 1,300 families. The new solar system will offset over 164,000 pounds of CO2 emissions each year, which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered from 70 acres of U.S. forests in one year. The financial savings the solar system generates will assist the work of the church in supporting its parishioners, community and local area.

"We are thankful for Sullivan Solar Power for helping push this project through," said Father Elmer Mandac, pastor at St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church. "The cost savings from this project will support the efforts of the church within our community."

The system is comprised of 220 SunPower modules, with an expected useful life of more than 40 years. In addition, Sullivan Solar Power will continue to monitor the system for the next 20 years, ensuring both the cost savings and environmental benefits of the solar system.

Sullivan Solar Power has developed a rigid quality assurance and quality control program that has allowed the firm to secure multiple contracts with other large scale organizations such as the University of California San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric, City of Chula Vista, the Port of Long Beach and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.