Central County Fire & Rescue’s (CCFR) fire stations are going green with solar power that will save the District more than $300,000 in energy costs over the next 20 years.
CCFR is working with Brightergy to design and install the rooftop solar panel systems at five of its fire stations.
“The solar panels will generate enough energy to cover the fixed cost of the equipment lease, while also generating thousands of dollars in energy savings over the next 20 years,” says CCFR Chief Russ Mason.
The partnership with Brightergy reduces the District’s energy costs, and protects it from future energy rate increases. “CCFR’s energy savings may be greater than expected depending on utility rate increases,” says Mason.
“In addition to cost savings, this will make a huge impact on our local environment. It is expected that our yearly greenhouse gas emission reduction will be equivalent to powering 21 homes for a year,” says Mason.
“Brightergy utilizes tax credits and rebates not available to our District to cover equipment costs and lower our energy costs,” says Mason. The company handles installation and all maintenance on the solar equipment. Their Brighter Lease program, which CCFR is participating in, is fully compliant with all State of Missouri, US Treasury and IRS guidelines.
The energy generated by the solar panels will supplement power provided from local utility companies. In an emergency situation where power is lost, each fire station has an automatic generator that can run for a minimum of 72 hours without being refueled.
Since 2003 Brightergy has completed more than 500 projects including those at Washington University in St. Louis, Thomson Reuters, the City of Clayton and Lambert: St. Louis International Airport. Installation of the solar panels at the CCFR stations started in the spring of 2014. Fire station #3 required a structural repair that prevented the equipment from being installed before the deadline for the tax credits and rebates, so it will not be utilizing the system.