ABR’s commitment to environmental stewardship is reaching new heights—7.6 meters to be exact—in the form of a newly installed solar power system. The installation consists of three 14-panel, pole-mounted arrays on the north side of our main office parking lot. The 265 watt SunSpark solar panels equate to a total array capacity of 11,130 watts using 21 microinverters each. The arrays are manually adjustable for a 45 degree summer angle and an 85 degree winter angle to optimize power generation. Every electron that we produce will be used on site by ABR or will feed into the Golden Valley Electric Association’s (GVEA) grid. By using the power on site, we will save on GVEA’s kilowatt costs, also known as net metering.
This installation is the most recent addition to the many ways that ABR mitigates the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions produced by our company’s operations. Other efforts include:
Building and retrofitting our offices to be more energy efficient (from appliances to insulation);
Donating to forest restoration programs (storing CO2);
Supporting green power sources by purchasing “green tags” (e.g., http://www.nativeenergy.com/ ); and
Helping develop a pilot solar project at a local middle school.
Our employees share this commitment to reducing carbon emissions by participating in ABR’s Alternative Transportation Program. Since its inception in 1987, employees have walked, biked, skied, and even dog-sledded (in Alaska) to our offices, earning cash bonuses and bragging rights at the lunch table. We consider this effort to reduce our impacts from our own energy use a corporate responsibility to our shareholders and to our community. May the power of the sun shine bright in 2019!
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