Tire company finds traction in rooftop solar

MAGE-superior-solar2What do automobile tires and rooftop solar have in common?

Quite a lot, it turns out, in Northwest Arizona.

MAGE SOLAR, a turn-key solar PV-system solution provider and Sunquest Solar, an Arizona-based integrator, have now outfitted and installed two solar PV systems at Superior Tire Corporation in Northwest Arizona. The rooftop arrays are the first and second of four solar grid-tied PV-installations the family owned tire business has decided to have installed.

200 kW of rooftop solar
Installed in Nov. 2011, the first system is a 53.3 kW array at the company’s Kingman, Ariz. location which has produced more than 80 MWh so far. A 49.5 kW system was just completed at another Superior Tire branch in Fort Mohave, Ariz.

Once two additional systems at the company’s other locations are finished, Superior Tire will generate 200kW of energy annually, or enough to offset 217 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

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“Our solar projects are only one part of our overall plan to operate above and beyond regulations as an example to our community of our commitment to the health of the environment,” said Kelly Burgess, Superior Tire’s Vice President.

The systems were funded in part by a rebate program from the local utilities Unisource and Mohave Electric Company, the 1603 federal grant by the U.S. Department of Treasury, and a 10 percent state tax credit for solar installations. The Kingman installation is also the first in Mohave County to receive a grant from the USDA’s Rural Energy Assistance Program.

ā€œSuperior Tire Corporation is setting an excellent example for other business owners and community leaders to follow to be more sustainable by integrating renewable energy solutions in their business practices as well as operations,ā€ noted Glenn Roehl, President of Sunquest Solar Inc.

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