REC Solar Reduces CO2 Footprint of New Inline Hockey Arenas in Hawaii

Thursday, Jul 22, 2010

REC Solar, a leading solar electric provider in the US, today announced the completion of another major commercial solar installation in the Hawaiian Islands at the Kapolei Inline Hockey Arenas on Oahu. The twin hockey arenas are powered by two Xantrex 100 kW inverters and 1,170 REC 220 watt modules. These two systems produce over 400,000 kWh and offset approximately 80% of the Kapolei Inline Hockey Arena’s daily energy consumption. This reduction is equivalent to offsetting 287 metric tons of CO2, or the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 55 passenger vehicles.

“Without an arena to practice in, our local teams were at a disadvantage. I wanted to create a home for these players as well as an exemplary facility that could operate with minimal negative environmental impact”

This recent roof mounted project adds to the growing list of satisfied Hawaii business clients who installed commercial-scale systems with REC Solar. Installations include four Costco Warehouses, four at Tony Auto Group facilities, two at Longs Drugs stores, and systems at Kauai Community College, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Intl on Kauai and Waikoloa Village Golf Course. In the last 24 months alone, REC Solar has installed over 16MW of retail, commercial-scale solar systems throughout the US.

The Inline Hockey Arenas were built by local businessman Richard Pentecost to provide a state-of-the-art facility for the community to learn, practice and enjoy inline hockey. Without any other inline hockey arenas on Hawaiian Islands, the facility opens up new state and local revenue potential through welcoming out-of-towners for tournaments and creating a local attraction for the community’s youth.

“Without an arena to practice in, our local teams were at a disadvantage. I wanted to create a home for these players as well as an exemplary facility that could operate with minimal negative environmental impact,” said Richard Pentecost, owner and founder of the Inline Hockey Arenas. “REC Solar was a pleasure to work with from start to finish. The design build process went exactly as they planned and that is extremely rare in the contracting world.”

“REC is committed to providing the best solutions to the high cost of electricity for businesses in Hawaii. We help smart businesses reduce their power costs with photovoltaic systems while taking advantage of the current 30% federal cash grants and Hawaii’s 35% state tax credit, or a lesser 24.5% Hawaii State refundable tax credit for businesses that do not have enough tax liability,” said Drew Bradley, Hawaii regional manager for REC Solar.

“Solar energy provides one of the quickest way to decrease oil dependency in Hawaii and in many parts of the world. REC’s vision is to not only save customers money through decreased electricity bills but to help accelerate the adoption of renewable energy sources,” commented REC Solar CEO Angiolo Laviziano.

Source: Business Wire