You may have already seen the adventures of Marty the Zebra, Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo and Melman the Giraffe in the Madagascar movies. A series of events led these animals from New York to Madagascar. Of course, they thought they were in San Diego until they were helpfully reminded of their true location when they saw lemurs, one of Madagascar’s most well known residents!

In April 2011, a SunPower team along with representatives from the Vote Solar Initiative and other groups from the Bay Area’s renewable energy industry had the pleasure of visiting the island located 200 miles off the east coast of Africa for a “greening” initiative led by Dr. Brian Fisher, the Chairman of the California Academy of Sciences’ entomology department. 

For almost a decade, Dr. Fisher has been traveling from San Francisco to Madagascar, an island that comprises one of the most diverse, unique, and endangered biological hotspots on the planet. Unfortunately, more than 90 percent of the country’s rich natural ecology is already lost to habitat destruction. Dr. Fisher and his team at the Madagascar Biodiversity Center are in a race against time to study and preserve what still remains.

The problem is deforestation. Madagascar’s spiny forest, home to unique species such as: tortoises, mongooses, and the famous lemurs, is being destroyed at an astonishing rate. This is because Madagascar’s local communities rely on the slow-growing forest to supply fuel for cooking as reliable gas and electric infrastructures are virtually non-existent in Madagascar - one of the poorest countries in the world. The villages’ meager daily reliance on the forest as an energy source is the single greatest threat to this fragile ecosystem.

The good news is Dr. Fisher’s efforts have already started to pay off. Our team went to the island on a mission to install solar panels on Madagascar Biodiversity Center, which is located in the capital city of Antananarivo. Dr. Fisher serves as Executive Director of the center. Hand in hand, the team installed a 7.8 kilowatt SunPower system. The system will provide enough reliable electricity to meet 100 percent of the Center’s power needs for education and research. Before solar, the Center would have to stop research work during the frequent and often unexpected power outages. In addition, much of the Center’s sensitive equipment was damaged by the intermittent power and surges. The solar system also is a symbolic step towards a green fossil free fuel future for Madagascar. By virtually eliminating the facility’s dependence on fossil fuel-based generation from the local utilities, the clean energy system advances the Center’s larger environmental mission.

Today the center is abuzz with students conducting uninterrupted research with a strengthened focus on protecting their country’s rich biological heritage. We are honored to be part of such an initiative. Check out our photos of the Madagascar Biodiversity Center.

We encourage you to visit the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco to learn more about Dr. Fisher’s work and get a more in depth perspective on the importance of Madagascar and the Rainforests of the World. We hope you will join us in supporting this great organization locally and globally. We’ll keep you updated on our efforts. And please let us know if you have questions or ideas!
 

On May 25^th, 2011, San Francisco Interim Mayor Edwin Lee and Supervisor David Chiu joined One Atmosphere, Luminalt and SunPower to dedicate a 28-kilowatt AC SunPower solar rooftop system at Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center in San Francisco. With collective efforts from artists, businesses, environmentalists, government workers and more than 100 community volunteers, the new 28 kWh AC SunPower system provides a great example of how government, local business, artists, and the community can come together to accomplish something truly meaningful.

This solar installation will not only reduce Tel-Hi Neighborhood Center’s energy consumption by more than 85% but also offer the opportunity to educate children and others on the benefits of solar energy through an interpretive greenhouse.

Check out the interview below with Nestor Fernandez, the Executive Director of Tel-Hi Neighborhood Center, to find out why he believes this green initiative is a big step for the entire community.

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SunPower continues to change the way the world is powered…  On April 21st 2011, SunPower, Tucson Water Department and Trico Electric dedicated a 1-MW ground mounted solar power system in Tucson, Arizona. The project doubles the solar power system capacity used by the city. This means Tucson Water is now enjoying a reduction in its monthly electricity costs. And, this also means the agency is able to reduce its CO2 emissions annually by more than 1,300 tons; equivalent to removing 240 cars from the road each year!  SunPower is proud to be a part of Tucson Water’s commitment to energy conservation and environmental protection efforts.

Meeting renewable energy goals while the demand for energy is high or growing is not easy for agencies like Tucson Water Department. The agency provides services to approximately 80 percent of the population in the Tucson metropolitan area. Processing, pumping and storing the water needed for approximately 775,000 residents require a substantial amount of electricity. With the installation of a SunPower Serengeti T0 Tracking solar power system the agency will reliably receive clean energy for years to come.

The installation is located on city-owned land located within Tucson Water Department’s underground water storage and recovery facility, approximately 20 miles south of downtown Tucson. The SunPower team was there for the dedication. Today, we’d like to share some photos our team took from the dedication. Enjoy!

If you are interested in more business and government customer success stories, check out our website.

 

As we approach the holiday season, we want to share a recent solar project that demonstrates SunPower’s commitment to the local communities in which we conduct business - all over the world. Last weekend, the SunPower Korea team, joined by Edison Solitec (SunPower Authorized Installer), SMA Solar Technology Korea, and Habitat for Humanity Korea installed a residential installation in Yangpyeong, South Korea to benefit a local family.
The installation was a donation from SunPower, working through the SunPower Foundation, to Habitat for Humanity Korea’s 2010 New Hope Project, which aims to provide low-income families with homes. In addition, Edison Solitec donated construction services in building the installation, and SMA Solar Technology Korea donated a portion of the inverters used for the system. The entire project was a truly global effort well-aligned with the spirit of Habitat of Humanity. The install was completed in two days and will provide electricity for eight households living in these two buildings.
As Gi-Nam Jeong, team manager of the Habitat for Humanity’s project in Yangpyeong, pointed out, “Energy bills account for a large portion of the budgets of low-income families, so we hope this unique solar gift will shine a light on the issue of affordable housing and encourage other businesses to support this worthy cause.” Check out the Habitat for Humanity site to learn how to support projects like this around the globe by donating your time or your money. See below for photos of our SunPower Korea team installing the SunPower solar panels, and stay tuned for more photos coming to our Facebook page: