 Officials cut the ribbon of the new energy saving features, Solar panel (left) and Rain Harvesting System (right) in the Food Bank's Community Garden. Credit: TPR/Joey PalaciosJanuary 26, 2012 · Thanks to an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the Department of Energy, the San Antonio Food Bank has been able to implement energy and water saving measures into its operation.
Through a partnership with CPS Energy, SAWS and Solar San Antonio, the food bank was able to create a rainwater harvesting system with two 65,000 gallon tanks to irrigate the food bank's crops.
Eric Cooper is the president of the San Antonio Food Bank.
“The idea is really trying to make us less dependent on SAWS water to water our crops. If we could use rain water, we don’t have to pay for that water,” Cooper says.
That’s expected to save 500,000 gallons of water per year depending on rainfall. Many of the food banks lights were retrofitted to qualify for a CPS Energy rebate. The improvements are expected to provide annual cost savings of over $50,000. New solar panels have also been added to the roof of the food bank to generate 81 kilowatts of solar energy.
“The solar helps us become less dependent on having to purchase that energy, and what we’re generating ourselves, we can put that expense, or those dollars, towards putting more meals on the table for those that are hungry,” says Cooper.
The grant of $2.5 million was first given to the city and county, $350,000 of which was used towards the food bank. |
