Bend, OR – If you’ve driven east on Bond street in downtown Bend you may have noticed a new addition to the First United Methodist Church roof–a 13.7 kW photovoltaic solar panel system installed by Sunlight Solar Energy. “This year we wanted to celebrate Earth Day in a big way by going solar” says Steven Park, a member of the congregation. Visitors and organizations who meet at the church including the Girl and Boy Scouts of America and a Montessori school, will be able to view a live feed reporting the environmental benefits of the solar array from the lobby kiosk. The array is expected to offset 20% of the church’s annual energy consumption as well as:
The solar array will prevent:
- 1. 20,953 lbs of carbon dioxide pollution
- 2. 14 lbs of sulfur dioxide pollution
- 3. 69 lbs of nitrous oxide pollution
Which is equivalent to:
- 1. Reducing automobile driving by 25,143 miles
- 2. Planting 1.65 acres of trees
Funding for the solar project was made possible by Pacific Power’s Blue Sky customers, an Energy Trust of Oregon cash incentive, and generous contributions by the church congregation. A celebration thanking project contributors is planned for May 3rd. The celebration is open to the public from 10am to 11 am for anyone interested in getting a closer look at the system, the lobby kiosk, learning about going solar, the Pacific Power Blue Sky program and Energy Trust of Oregon incentives.