|
El Monte Chamber of Commerce
member
Cathay Bank has chosen
PermaCity, a Los Angeles based firm, to
engineer and construct a solar powered
carport that, while it may not have handy
outlets for plug in electric vehicles, will
surely help lower the peak daytime power
usage at the bank.
In 1962, Cathay Bank opened for business
with the mission of providing financial
services to the growing but underserved
Chinese-American community in the greater
Los Angeles area, thus becoming the first
Chinese-American bank in Southern
California.
Since its inception, when it only had
$550,000 in capital, Cathay Bank has thrived
and is now part of a publicly traded
financial institution with stockholder
equity of approximately $1.42 billion and
total assets of $11.41 billion. Its service
network extends from the West Coast to New
York and Massachusetts on the Eastern
Seaboard, north to the state of Washington,
and south to Texas. Overseas, it has a
presence in the three important commercial
centers in the Asian-Pacific Rim-Taipei,
Shanghai, and
Hong Kong.
PermaCity Solar,
an innovative leader in specialized energy
solutions, will design and construct a 432.5
kW AC solar electric system atop a custom
engineered carport for the
Cathay Bank Corporate
Center in El Monte, California.
The carport boasts 2,128 solar panels,
sourced from PermaCity Solar's partner
Schüco, estimated to generate 695,181 kWh
annually. Upon completion, the structure is
projected to result in a 40% decrease in
energy costs, saving the bank more than
$9,000 per month.
In addition to providing covered parking for
approximately 300 bank customers and staff
each day, the PermaCity Solar carport is
designed and engineered to meet Cathay
Bank's high aesthetic requirements.
PermaCity Solar worked with Gensler, an
award-winning architectural firm who
recently designed and managed the renovation
of the Cathay Bank Corporate Center, and
EcoMotion, a notable renewable energy
consulting firm, to create what is expected
to be the most architecturally advanced
solar carport design in the United States.
Cathay Bank has already incorporated
environmentally conscious construction and
operational elements, such as waterless
bathroom fixtures and recycled paper, into
its Corporate Center making PermaCity
Solar's energy solution a natural fit. By
installing a solar carport, the bank is not
only reducing its dependence on energy from
fossil fuel sources, but also attaining an
attractive return-on-investment coupled with
additional monetary savings in the form of
generous state rebates and federal tax
incentives.
"Our goal is to implement solar energy
solutions that allow our customers to
minimize their carbon footprint and reduce
overall energy overhead in a cost effective,
aesthetically pleasing way, " said Jonathan
Port, PermaCity Solar President and CEO.
"The project for Cathay Bank is designed to
provide continuous sustainable energy for
the property while offsetting an estimated
1,411 barrels of oil and reducing 494 tons
of CO2 from being released into
the atmosphere. These cut backs act as the
equivalent of planting 2,364 trees per
year."
The Cathay Bank Corporate Center is located
at 9650 Flair Dr. in El Monte, California.
To join the El
Monte Chamber of Commerce, click
HERE! To other California chambers:
Please let us know about your Clean Energy
successes and Green Members so we can
publish your story in the C of C GreenSheet! |
