Case Study:
PBI makes solar feasible for nonprofit food bank

December 2005

The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano (FBCCS) distributes about 7.5 million pounds of food annually to more than 200-member agencies that serve 84,000 hungry people every month. The Food Bank receives food from food drives, food stores, and food manufacturers, and in turn, supplies area agencies (pantries, kitchens, shelters, and numerous social service organizations) with food as needed. FBCCS's terrific network of relationships has earned widespread support from the community.

The Food Bank owns a 31,000 square foot warehouse in Concord that contains a 1,400-square-foot refrigerator and a 1,400-square-foot freezer. Keeping theses two units operating consumes a lot of electricity and is the primary reason why the electrical bill tops $4,000 every month.

In 2004, as part of on-going cost management initiatives, FBCCS conducted a feasibility study that determined solar energy could generate enough electricity to reduce this monthly bill almost to zero. The cost savings would translate directly into feeding more hungry people. FBCCS chose Cooperative Community Energy Corp. through a competitive bidding process to manage the solar project.

Rebate situation impacted project scope

Originally, the Food Bank wanted to install a solar system that would come as close as possible to offsetting their electricity use completely. Financial feasibility was based upon rebate funding through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), a state-backed program managed by investor-owned utilities for renewable energy systems larger than 30 kilowatts with a rebate level of $4.50 per watt at that time. However, within a few weeks of CCEnergy submitting the Food Bank proposal, the State froze SGIP funding and suspended rebate applications due to a budget crisis. When the SGIP program resumed accepting rebate applications, project funding priority was determined by a lottery. CCEnergy project manager Dick Hansen submitted an application immediately upon behalf of the Food Bank but unfortunately drew a high number.

Usually the financial feasibility of large, commercial size solar systems depends upon tax benefits and special depreciation provisions unique to business. But since tax-exempt nonprofits like the Food Bank do not have the same tax incentives as for-profit companies, financing a large solar project like the Food Bank's presented a completely different challenge.

Mindful that the Food Bank's Board of Directors did not want to incur a large debt, Executive Director Larry Sly sought other sources of funding. As a result, the cities of Concord, Walnut Creek, and Pittsburg, as well as Contra Costa County, generated Community Development Block Grant funds. The Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation and Conco Cement Company, both long-time Food Bank supporters, made private contributions toward the project. CCEnergy's Dick Hansen also went back to the drawing board and proposed a scaled back solar system which, combined with a different state pilot incentive program, would enable the Food Bank recoup the balance of the system's $450,000 cost within three years.

Unlike the lump-sum SGIP rebate based on system capacity, the California Energy Commission's pilot Performance Based Incentive (PBI) pays quarterly rebates based on a system's actual electricity production, which must be tracked by a third-party, independent monitoring system. The Food Bank system is among the first solar installations in California to qualify under the PBI program. The new California Solar Initiative (CSI) approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in January 2006 will combine existing rebate programs into one comprehensive incentive program that will incorporate the performance-based requirement. (More about CSI »)

Solar system configuration

The Food Bank's 56-kilowatt solar system features 360 Kyocera KC190 solar modules spanning the warehouse's flat roof, tilt-mounted in groups of four for maximum solar absorption using the Sunlink racking system developed by Eastwood Energy of Larkspur. The solar panels feed power into 10 SMA America Inc. SB6000 inverters that convert the DC power generated by the solar modules to AC electricity to be used by the Food Bank or fed into the utility power grid. Connecting a solar system to the utility power grid is a basic eligibility requirement for all state rebate programs. An SMA SunnyBoy Control unit monitors the individual system components. Finally, a web-based monitoring device made by Fat Spaniel Technologies measures actual electrical production, satisfying the PBI requirement for third party monitoring.

View the Food Bank solar system's live, real-time production »

TeamSolar, Inc. installed the Food Bank system, working closely with equipment suppliers, the City of Concord Building Department, and PG& E to test and commission the system. As one of the first major installations utilizing the Sunlink racking product, Team Solar's extensive experience with solar installations came into play in managing site-specific engineering and code compliance details while keeping the Food Bank job on schedule.

CCEnergy provided the solar equipment and managed the overall project. CCEnergy anticipates the system will generate about 100,000 kilowatt-hours per year, offsetting $25,000 in electricity costs annually. Food Bank Operations Manager Steve Linkhart notes that the system already is performing better than expected and estimates the payback on the solar system at about 50 cents per kilowatt-hour. Discussion is already underway for a second phase project to expand the solar system's generation capacity. The system is designed so that additional capacity can be added as additional funding becomes available, consistent with the goal of further reducing operating expenses.

FBCCS is the first food bank in California as part of the national America's Second Harvest food bank network to pioneer solar energy. "The Food Bank is a true trailblazer in using the state's Performance-Based Incentive," says CCEnergy Founder and President Dan Pellegrini. "PBI is the wave of the future and will be combined into the new California Solar Initiative, a 10-year solar program that will set a stable growth path for solar in California. The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano is part setting an example for the rest of the country."

More about the California Solar Initiative incentives »
Official press release »
More installation photos »