SAN FRANCISCO and FOSTER CITY, Calif., Sept. 17, 2008—SolarCity®, the No. 1 provider of residential and small commercial solar power in California, completed a solar power system at KQED’s headquarters in San Francisco earlier this week. KQED’s new solar arrays will be unveiled tonight at its San Francisco headquarters, during the broadcaster’s Annual Fall Preview Event. The new solar installation is part of a broader partnership between KQED and SolarCity designed to educate consumers and businesses about affordable new solar options that can save them money and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time. As part of the partnership, SolarCity is extending a no-money-down solar lease option to KQED members and employees. SolarLease™ can allow homeowners to switch to solar power for less money than they are currently paying for electricity.
“KQED and Northern California Public Broadcasting (NCPB) strive to bring awareness of environmental stewardship to our listeners, viewers, Internet users, and those we serve through our educational services, as well as throughout our organization,” said Jeff Clarke, president and CEO of NCPB, the parent company of KQED. "We are proud to be leading the way as one of the nation’s greenest public broadcasters, and our use of renewable, solar electricity is an important addition to our own sustainability practices and status as a carbon neutral broadcaster.”
KQED’s solar panels were installed in August and interconnected earlier this week. SolarCity’s SolarGuard™ monitoring system provides a view of the installation’s electricity output and environmental impact online, at the following link: http://solarguard.solarcity.com/Kiosk/SolarGuard.aspx?ID=670C01F9-A731-4A6B-976E-FF3A09482DB1. A slide show of the installation is available on KQED’s Web site (http://www.kqed.org/assets/slideshow/solarpanelinstall/index.jsp).

“KQED has established itself as a leader in green business, and we are thrilled to collaborate with SolarCity to bring solar power to our organization and to our members,” said Don Derheim, KQED’s executive vice president of marketing and communications.  “This innovative partnership will have lasting effects as SolarCity and KQED work together to leave a lighter footprint on our planet by using sustainable, green practices.”
KQED, the first public broadcaster in the U.S. to become carbon neutral, works with local non-profit organization LiveNeutral to measure its greenhouse emissions. Its new solar system is expected to produce approximately 40,000 kilowatt-hours of carbon-free electricity each year, to further reduce its footprint.
“KQED has played a key role in educating Northern California listeners and viewers on the potential effects of power sources that pollute the environment,” said Peter Rive, SolarCity’s chief operations officer. “We expect this joint effort to help the region continue its leadership in clean power adoption, and we’re honored to have been chosen to provide solar power to the broadcaster’s historic headquarters.”
 

About KQED

KQED (www.kqed.org) is a service of Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc.  (NCPB).  KQED Public Television 9, the nation's most-watched public television station, is the producer of local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way; and Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures.  KQED's digital television channels include KQED HD, KQED Life, KQED World, KQED Kids and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast.  KQED Public Radio, home of Forum with Michael Krasny and The California Report, is the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation with an award-winning news and public affairs program service (88.5 FM in San Francisco and 89.3 FM in Sacramento). KQED Education Network brings the impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops, community screenings and multimedia resources. KQED Interactive offers video and audio podcasts and live radio stream at www.kqed.org, featuring unique content on one of the most-visited station sites in public broadcasting.