Irvine-based solar panel maker ecoSolargy recently installed 1,664 of its photovoltaic panels at 34 apartment buildings in downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco, in what the company called one of the largest projects of its kind in the state in the past decade.
The buildings, mostly in Los Angeles, are owned by Culver City-based real estate company Goldrich & Kest, which saw a 70 percent drop in electricity bills each month at the buildings where the panels were installed, according to ecoSolargy.
“We’re excited to be involved in a project of this magnitude,” said Alan H. Lee, ecoSolargy’s CEO and founder.
“Firms such as Goldrich & Kest are discovering that they’re saving big on their electricity costs, and are happy to be making a contribution to having a cleaner environment in California,” Lee said.
Goldrich & Kest will recover about 84 percent of the installation costs in the first year, from federal tax incentives, depreciation and utility rebates, ecoSolargy said.
The total cost of the installation, which took about six months, will be recovered within three years, according to ecoSolargy. The electricity generated after that will be virtually free because solar panels require so little maintenance, the company said.
ecoSolargy worked with L.A. solar company ReGreen to install the panels.
– Antonie Boessenkool
Contact the writer: aboessenkool@losangelesregister.com
