February 19, 2011
Salpointe Catholic High School flipped the switch Friday on the largest solar power array of any local high school. The 23.5 kW system comprises 150 photovoltaic panels mounted atop Salpointe's Alumni Hall, 1545 E. Copper St., and on the roof of the Corcoran Theater. The photovoltaic system, valued at $118,344, was donated by Solar Ventures LLC and installed by Tucson's Industrial Solar LLC. The system is the largest school based system connected to the electrical grid of Tucson Electric Power Co., TEP said.Instead of flat solar panels, the Salpointe system uses a tubular design made by California based Solyndra Inc. The thin film photovoltaic cells are mounted inside long glass tubes to gather both direct and reflected sunlight, said Philip Lacovara, co owner of Industrial Solar and Solar Ventures.
The tubes lie flat on the roof, so they are unseen from the ground and don't compromise the aesthetics of the school's 1950s architecture, said Lacovara, who also is president of Salpointe's board of directors. The system is expected to meet about 2% of Salpointe's energy needs, saving the school about $170,000 over 30 years.
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