Zarrow Pointe adds solar power generation to covered parking
TULSA — A “think tank” of residents at Tulsa’s Zarrow Pointe regularly meets to discuss the latest happenings in the world outside their retirement community.
For years they followed the progression of solar power in states like Hawaii, California, Florida and Vermont.
When the group, led by Ray Bachelor, approached management at the retirement community last year about installing solar power on the campus, the members expected resistance.
“I thought it would be a hard sell,” Bachelor said. “Fortunately we have a very progressive CEO, and he ran with it.”
On Thursday, residents and officials with Zarrow Pointe unveiled a new solar power generating covered parking structure on the Zarrow Campus, 2025 E 71st St. “An opportunity to protect our residents’ vehicles from the Oklahoma weather, reduce our carbon footprint, and lower our utility expenses, simply made good sense,” said Jim Jakubovitz, CEO of Zarrow Pointe.
“Our residents care very much about the environment and are committed to leaving this world better than they found it.”
The system consists of 220 Canadian Solar panels mounted to a Schletter B2 canopy that provides shaded parking for Zarrow residents and is expected to produce more than 95,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year for 25 years — enough electricity to power 10 homes.
Zarrow Pointe is the only retirement community in the country that has combined covered parking and solar power generation, Jakubovitz said.
The right thing to do
From a strictly dollars and sense standpoint, he said that a project like this in Tulsa will take longer to see a return on the investment compared to other states that have higher energy costs.
“Our residents said forget the payback, we’ll write the check and receive the benefit of the energy right away,” he said. “There was a unanimous feeling that this was the right thing to do.”
Additional projects are planned for the campus.
The first will likely include adding solar panels to an existing covered parking structure as well as on the roof of the apartment building.
The retirement community includes 66 apartments with 82 residents, 38 villa homes with 62 residents and 58 living in the community’s nursing center.
This is the second commercial solar parking canopy in the state and the first in Tulsa.
Renewable energy is a $50 billion industry in the state that will bring new jobs and environmental stewardship as more projects like this get underway, said David Jankowsky, founder and president of Francis Solar.
“I hope in 10 years from now, we can point to this and say that you all were really pioneers,” Jankowsky said.