Talk about making good use of the "gold" in California.
That would be the golden rays of the sun, which are now powering the practice
facility of one of the state’s NBA franchises—a historic first for the sport.
The Golden State Warriors just opened the facility’s solar
renovation, which is expected to save more than $2 million in electricity costs
over the next 25 years. The Solar Company, based in Castro
Valley, Calif., oversaw the
project, installing nearly 540 SunPower modules
for power, generating an estimated daily production of 758.9 kilowatt hours of
electricity for the practice facility. That’s enough to save $36,000 on the
power bill within the first year of operations, reducing consumption by about
26 percent.
Retrofitting a pro
hoops facility for sun power is no small feat. The sport’s slick image and mass
popularity dictate that these buildings come with state-of-the-art design and
amenities. Built on top of the Oakland Convention Center garage, the two-story facility is home to
16,000 square feet of office space and 21,000 square feet of basketball court
space. There’s a modern weight room, along with a whirlpool, sauna and steam
room. The players’ lounge is stocked with a pool table and plasma TVs.
The project could
mark a turning point for the 35-employee Solar Company. It’s traditionally
focused on residential work, installing solar for 250 homes a year. But it just
so happens that a local sports radio personality, Bob Fitzgerald, also does
radio spot ads for Solar. Fitzgerald is a TV play-by-play announcer for the
Warriors, and helped the company get needed referrals to get the project
greenlighted.
“It’s a great
building for this kind of project because it obviously uses a lot of
electricity,” says Mark Danenhower, president of Solar Company. “There are offices
for more than 100 employees who support the team. There’s a gym with three or
four basketball courts, and all of these places need a lot of power. What
worked really well is that the roof didn’t have any skylights and faced the
sun. It was nice and big and long—like a football field—with no trees above to
provide any shading problems.”
The company is now
getting inquiries from other sports teams about similar retrofits. As far as
the Warriors are concerned, it’s a good investment. And not just because of
cost savings on the energy bill.
“This solar
installation is a very important project for us,” says Robert Rowell, president
of the Warriors. “It enables us to help protect and preserve our environment by
reducing our carbon footprint, while also maintaining our practice facility as
one of the finest.”
