May 21 2010
Solar Power, Inc. (OTCBB: SOPW) announced today that it has been contracted by BLT Enterprises to design and construct a 397 kW photovoltaic (“PV”) solar system to provide power for BLT Enterprises’ Fremont Recycling and Transfer Station (“FRTS”) located in Fremont, California.
The FRTS handles the recycling and disposal needs for the residents of the Tri-Cities area (Fremont, Newark and Union City) and in 2009 recycled nearly 14,000 tons of material. This volume of recycling included enough paper to save 182,000 trees and enough plastic soda bottles to make 68,000 fleece jackets. The incorporation of Solar Power, Inc.’s commercial PV solar system with BLT’s inherently sustainable practices will make it one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s greenest commercial operations.
Solar Power, Inc. will design and construct the solar system which will include a mix of rooftop racking and parking shade structures on which the 1,776 solar modules will be mounted. Once completed, the solar system will produce more than 576,000 kWh of electricity, and deliver more than $128,000 in savings during its first year of operation. The system will reduce the electrical utility costs of operating the FRTS by more than $4.24 million over 25 years. In addition to cost savings, during its first year of production the FRTS solar plant will produce environmental offsets equivalent to preserving 3.1 acres of forest and 447 metric tons of avoided carbon emissions.
“We are very pleased to be adding this solar system to our Fremont operation,” said Shawn Guttersen, Vice President of BLT Enterprises. “It is a complement to our core values and mission to provide the means for environmentally responsible recycling and disposal of waste materials produced by communities across California,” Guttersen concluded.
“We are very happy to be chosen to work with BLT Enterprises to design and develop a PV solar plant that will help power its FRTS operations,” said Stephen Kircher, Chairman and CEO of Solar Power, Inc. “Our system will provide an excellent environmental complement to BLT Enterprises’ strength as a green business.”
BLT Enterprises is a privately owned, Southern California-based company that has specialized for over 20 years in the development and operation of Material Recycling Facilities and transfer stations, as well as the processing and marketing of recyclable materials. Led by the company’s principals, Bernard Huberman and Daniel Rosenthal, and Vice-President, Shawn Guttersen, BLT has been engaged in the solid waste industry for more than 25 years. The company operates several facilities like the Fremont Recycling and Transfer Station throughout California.