Solar Powered Girl Scout Council Office

Girl Scouts Go Green with Solar Panels on Council Office

Great green news in scouting this week!  To showcase the importance of safeguarding the environment (and to save on energy costs), a solar powered Girl Scout Council office is located deep in the heart of Texas.  The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council (GSSJC) located in Houston, should be proud of their new solar array on the council building, installed by the Austin,Texas Green Mountain Energy Company.

The Girl Scout council office now boasts a 10.08 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) solar panel system, donated by Green Mountain!  Not only will the solar array generate clean, green electricity, but an educational station inside will help instruct families on the importance of reducing your carbon footprint through similar measures.

Girl Scouts and visitors will be educated about the benefits of solar energy. A sign describing the benefits of solar energy will be displayed in the lobby of the GSSJC building and a monitoring web site will also be linked to the array, and will display real-time energy output data.

The scouts were pretty enthusiastic this weekend when they got to officially “flip the switch” of the solar array at the GSSJC.  Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that the GSSJC will be hosting the Girl Scouts of the USA National Convention in 2 years.  Right where the solar powered Girl Scout Council Office is located!

Protecting the future for all girl scouts!

Here are some fast facts on the solar powered Girl Scout council office:

• Its the first solar installation of its kind in Texas for a Girl Scout Council Office
• The 2,068 square foot building includes 56 solar panels on its roof
• Estimated electricity savings for the GSSJC is over $300,000 over the 30-year solar array lifetime

Green Mountain Energy is probably almost as excited as the scouts!  Paul Markovich, Sr. VP of Residential Services gushed:

“Green Mountain Energy Company is proud to partner with the Girl Scouts, an organization that not only represents leadership and character, but is also deeply committed to the environment and the benefits of renewable energy.  Donating solar systems like this helps Green Mountain give back to the Houston community where our customers and employees live, work, play, and attend school, while supporting our mission to change the way power is made.”

Personally, I think its exciting to hear that Green Mountain obtained funds for the new Girl Scouts solar array through a program by which its customers can choose to support other solar panel installations in Texas by paying an additional (small) utility premium.  Here in Oregon, we have the Blue Sky Program through my local utility, Pacific Power.  For as little as $2 per month, you can fund renewable energy projects if your state has a program like Big Texas Sun Club or the Blue Sky Program (stay tuned, this will be the subject of a future blog post!)

The GSSJC President, Mary Vitek is also very proud and excited about the solar powered Girl Scout council office:

“Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council is thrilled to partner with Green Mountain to set an example for others and demonstrate our commitment to being good stewards of the environment. This array will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint, but also teach girls the importance of conserving the environment and working together to tackle a real issue. The impact will be felt for years to come.”

Solar panels on the GSSJC Building in Texas are the next great thing

So, before we leave to go taste-test some thin mint cookies, consider these amazing facts regarding the GSSJC:

• The array is expected to produce more than 19,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a year
• Clean solar energy genearted will reduce nearly 27,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually
• The solar electricity that is created by the solar array is equivalent to not driving nearly 30,000 miles, or planting about 1,600 trees.

Consider the clean, green efforts of the Girl Scouts next time they come knocking on your door with delicious cookies.

While the solar powered Girl Scout council office is newsworthy in Texas, I will bet a box of Thin Mints that other Councils will get into the solar swing of things soon!

Tags: austin texas, girl scouts council office, green mountain energy company, GSSJC, solar array, solar powered