Monday, March 21, 2016
The Frederick H. Leonhardt Foundation has announced a partnership with the Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque, NM. The FHL Foundation has provided Roadrunner Food Bank with a grant for $300,000 designed to allow RRFB to complete the final Phase II of its Green Initiative solar array project. Phase I was recently completed through a $260,000 grant from the City of Albuquerque. Phase I allowed RRFB to replace half of its tar and gravel roof using an energy efficient TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) membrane made by Firestone. A solar array consisting of approximately 1,800 solar panels (each panel is 200 watts) was then placed on top of the new north roof using Unirac mounting frames. This solar array will deliver approximately 540,000 kWh per year, which RRFB then purchases at a reduced rate from Affordable Solar. As a comparison, the average household uses approximately 12,000 kWh per year. The Phase I solar array went online in December, 2015. The Phase II solar array will be installed in the same way as Phase I and will be placed on the south roof. Phase II will consist of approximately 1,200 solar panels and deliver approximately 360,000 kWh per year. Phase II should be completed by summer, 2016. Over the course of its 25 year lifespan, the solar array as a whole will save RRFB approximately two million dollars in energy costs, which translates to approximately 10 million additional meals delivered. We'd like to thank the other partners who contributed to this collaborative project: the City of Albuquerque, National Roofing, Affordable Solar, Firestone, and Unirac.
Roadrunner Food Bank will host a Green Initiatives event on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at 5:30 pm at its main Albuquerque facility on 5840 Office Boulevard NE. If you would like to attend and learn more about the Food Bank’s green programs, please RSVP to Brian Brown at 505.349.8829 or brian.brown@rrfb.org. For more information on the Food Bank Green Initiatives, visit www.rrfb.org/green.