Arizona's Somerton School District Dedicates 1.6-Megawatt Solar Energy Project from Constellation

Arizona's Somerton School District Dedicates 1.6-Megawatt Solar Energy Project from Constellation

Solar power system designed to meet approximately 60 percent of the electricity needs at five schools

SOMERTON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Constellation and the Somerton School District today announced the completion of an aggregate 1.6-megawatt (DC) solar generation project in Yuma County, Ariz. Located at five sites -- Desert Sonora Elementary School, Orange Grove Elementary School, Somerton Middle School, Tierra del Sol Elementary School and Valle del Encanto Learning Center -- the installations are expected to collectively generate enough electricity to meet approximately 60 percent of the schools' electricity needs.

Constellation's 1.6-megawatt solar energy project for Somerton School District in Yuma County, Ariz. will meet approximately 60 percent of the electricity needs for five district schools. Pictured is Somerton's Desert Sonora Elementary School. (Photo: Business Wire)

In honor of the solar project completion, a celebration and ribbon-cutting were held today at Somerton Middle School. Representatives from Somerton School District, Constellation, CORE Construction and Arizona Public Service Comany attended the event.

"Supporting solar generation helps our district to save operating costs and serves as an educational resource for students," said Jerry Cabrera, human resources and operations director for Somerton School District. "An added benefit is that the panel structures provide needed shade for parking and play areas."

Constellation owns and maintains the solar power systems. Somerton School District purchases the electricity generated by the solar panels from Constellation under a 20-year solar services agreement.

"Constellation is pleased to support Somerton School District's commitment to renewable energy," said Michael D. Smith, vice president of solar and energy efficiency sales for Constellation. "Solar as a power-generation source allows schools to better manage electricity costs and demonstrates the importance of clean energy resources to students, faculty and the community."

The solar power system is composed of approximately 6,600 photovoltaic panels located on 10 carports and eight shade structures. The system is expected to generate approximately 2.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Generating the same amount of electricity using nonrenewable sources would result in the release of approximately 1,300 tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent emissions from 230 passenger vehicles annually, according to U.S. EPA data for the region.

The solar project was initially developed by Kennedy Partners and Smart Energy Capital, and built by CORE Construction. The installation was facilitated, in part, by the APS Renewable Energy Incentive Program. The program offers financial incentives to customers who add renewable energy systems to their homes or businesses. The program is funded by Arizona Public Service Company customers and approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Constellation has developed more than 28 megawatts of solar projects for Arizona school districts. The company currently owns and operates more than 141 megawatts of solar installations that have been completed or are under construction for commercial and government customers throughout the United States.

By structuring its solar projects as solar services agreements or power purchase agreements, Constellation offers solar installations that may require no upfront capital from customers and may provide fixed power costs that are less than projected market rates. Constellation commercial customers, universities, school systems, hospitals and government agencies interested in on-site solar installations of 1 megawatt or larger may contact Constellation at sustainable-solutions@constellation.com or 1-877-427-2005.

About Constellation

The Constellation family of retail electricity and natural gas suppliers (www.constellation.com), are subsidiaries of Exelon Corp., and are leading competitive retail suppliers of power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation's retail businesses serve more than 100,000 business and public sector customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100, and nearly one million residential customers.

Exelon Corporation (NYS: EXC) is the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with 2012 revenues of approximately $23.5 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation's cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company's Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 100,000 business and public sector customers and approximately 1 million residential customers. Exelon's utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 6.6 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO).

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130417006544/en/

Constellation
Kelly Biemer, 410-470-9700
Kelly.Biemer@constellation.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Arizona

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