Tangerine Power

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 21, 2010

For more information contact:

Tangerine Power, hello@tangerinepower.com, www.tangerinepower.com/edmonds

Frances Anderson Center Going Solar – Up to 75 kilowatts

Project is the first community-owned solar cooperative in Washington state.

(Edmonds, WA) – Sustainable Edmonds, in partnership with Tangerine Power, has begun offering SunSlices (a share in the total solar array) to all Snohomish PUD residents and businesses.  The Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative was formed to own and manage the 75-kilowatt community solar energy system in downtown Edmonds at the Anderson Frances Center. “This is first community-owned solar cooperative in Washington state”, stated Chris Herman, Chairman of Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative. “The community is encouraged to participate in the community project by becoming cooperative members who then own and manage the solar array with a return on the investment expected by the year 2020”, added Herman.

Seattle-based Tangerine Power will manage the installation of the solar energy system on the roof of the Frances Anderson Center, a City of Edmonds-owned community center located at 700 Main St. The full system will produce about 75,000 kilowatt hours annually – a significant share of the center’s electrical use – and is estimated to save the City of Edmonds more than $45,000 over the next 20 years. Minimum $1,000 shares in the project – known as SunSlices – went on sale last week with some early participants signing up the first two days, and who want the City of Edmonds to take the lead in reducing carbon dioxide and dependence on fossil fuels.

Sustainable Edmonds, a non-profit, volunteer-run citizens’ organization, started in 2008, initiated the project, and the cooperative, with support of the City of Edmonds. Sustainable Edmonds selected Tangerine Power as the developer and administrator of the project.

To jump start clean-energy projects, the State of Washington is now offering incentives for those who participate in community solar projects in which multiple owners or contributors provide the upfront capital funding, and then receive incentives and payments for the value of the electricity produced over time proportional to their stake in the overall project.

“This program allows everyone – home and condo owners, renters and business owners – an opportunity to participate in affordable solar,” said Mark Mays, a board member of the Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative who also sits on the Sustainable Edmonds board.

The average cost for bringing solar power to a home is $25,000 to $30,000, and eligible homes must meet other criteria, such as having an appropriate roof with minimal obstructions that block the sun. “Joining a community solar cooperative is a more affordable way to participate in clean energy projects that reduce greenhouse gases and generate clean energy,” Herman said. “You can purchase a solar panel or two, and then receive a share of the energy and incentives generated indirectly through a rebate to cooperative members.”

Tangerine Power CEO and founder Stanley Florek said his company created the “SunSlice” concept to describe the individual shares that cooperative members purchase. “Our mission is to generate clean solar energy across the nation, and make solar affordable by setting up and managing community cooperative solar gardens like the one in Edmonds,” Florek said.

Washington State currently offers a $1.08 per kWh incentive for solar electricity that is generated, if it is classified as a community solar project.  On average, City of Edmonds customers pay between $.06 and $.08 cents a kWh, so the state rebates a majority of the payments to community members who joined the cooperative and purchased shares in the project.

SunSlices are available for those interested in being part of the Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative. A goal for the first wave of SunSlices was set by the cooperative of a minimum of 40 SunSlices by Dec. 24 to ensure the project is funded and can proceed. Herman stated that currently we are 15% to 20% there.  Visit www.tangerinepower.com/edmonds to learn more and join online.

About Tangerine Power: Tangerine Power, founded in 2009, is a “for-benefit” company that develops community energy projects in partnership with local organizations like Sustainable Edmonds. Tangerine is bringing the successful European model for cooperative clean energy development home to the U.S. For more information, visit: www.tangerinepower.com

About Sustainable Edmonds: Sustainable Edmonds is a 501(c)3 non-profit, Board run, independent local citizens’ organization, formed in 2008, open to all who are interested in the many facets of sustainability. The group’s mission is to help Edmonds to become ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable. For more information, visit www.sustainable-edmonds.org