The Copley-Price YMCA wanted to reduce its increasing energy costs in an environmentally sound, sustainable way. As a non-profit organization, any ability to decrease operating costs gives the company more opportunity to delegate funds to family and community programs.
Home Energy Systems developed an innovative energy solution for the YMCA which utilizes SunPower products, including SunPower’s Helix Dual Tilt design. The Dual Tilt Platform maximizes solar production in limited spaces.
The Copley-Price YMCA is now able to offset over 65% of their annual electrical energy consumption. This includes powering their recreational facilities, classrooms, and a small café. The savings from the solar systems give this non-profit organization the ability to re-delegate funds to better programming for the community.
Hamann Companies
When community members get together and create a usable solution for a nonprofit organization, such as the YMCA, everybody wins. In this case, it is extra special as not only does the surrounding community benefit, but many other surrounding communities benefit as well.
When the YMCA first started construction on their newest addition to the YMCA of San Diego family, one of their main goals was to partner with a solar installation team that would help decrease future operating costs in an economical, sustainable, environmentally sound way.
With the help of Home Energy Systems and Hamann Companies, the Copley-Price
YMCA was able to find a very good solution to fitting solar onto their limited roof space with a limited budget by not only using the roof for their solar installation, but also creating carport structures on the top of their new parking garage. In total, 528 panels were installed on the roof and 530 panels were installed on carport structures.
The YMCA elected to finance their system through a power purchase agreement
(PPA). Hamann Companies owns and operates the solar assets, then sells the
electricity generated from the system back to the YMCA at fixed rate, which was less than the current, ever rising utility rate at the time of system commissioning. This ensures predictable costs for the YMCA for the entirety of the PPA.
The Copley-Price YMCA solar project stands as a great example of how community
members can come together and create an affordable, usable, sustainable energy
solution for a non-profit that benefits community members and the surrounding
areas.
The residential-only entity HES Solar has redefined its scope and has narrowed its focus to home solar service and home battery service. The impact of 2023 California regulations to home solar projects has required this company truncation; we regret the elimination of new home energy installations from our offerings. HES Solar now concentrates on supporting existing systems with maintenance and repair services for HES Solar and non-HES Solar systems and remains available for workmanship warranty work on qualified HES Solar systems.
For commercial solar and commercial energy storage design, installation, service, and O&M offerings, please visit the HES Renewables website hesrenewables.com.
A note on the state of California residential solar: The residential solar industry has faced significant financial hurdles in the last few years as a direct result of hostile policy, most notably NEM 3.0. Our primary trade partner, SunPower, went into Chapter 11 in August, 2024, and a majority of other solar companies, large and small, have been forced to close, leave California, or restructure. We are glad to remain available as a home energy service group to support our customers and provide maintenance and repair for home systems that have been orphaned by other company closures.
We recognize your frustration with this news and never intended for our beloved 24-year-old residential solar business to curtail its offerings.