Travois Holdings has added an extensive renewable energy system to power its headquarters, located at 310 W. 19th Terrace in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City, Mo. Solar and Wind KC, owned by Andrew Homoly of Homoly Construction, installed a 75-kilowatt photovoltaic system with 330 solar panels on a steel canopy on the building’s rooftop.
The system, which was officially switched on by Kansas City Power & Light on Feb. 16, is expected to create about 90,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year,enough to completely offset Travois’ annual needs using net metering.The amount of energy produced each year is projected to save the equivalent in emissions of an average car driving nearly 235,000 miles.
“We are very proud to have provided what we think is the largest solar canopy in Greater Kansas City,” said Andrew Homoly of Solar and Wind KC. “The solar array itself will replace all of the building’s electrical energy needs for at least the next 25 years.”
“We were able to utilize the creativity and expertise of our sister company, Homoly Construction, to design and construct the solar canopy,” Homoly continued. “This solved the issue that the roof was already at its structural weight limit. The unique canopy will also provide shading for a future outdoor living space that has spectacular views.”
To help finance the project, Travois is using a combination of solar rebates offered by KCP&L, the federal Business Energy Investment Tax Credit and bonus depreciation tax benefits provided for by the federal Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. These financial incentives reduced the up-front cost of the project by 85 percent.
“We believe solar is the way of the future,” said Travois Chairman David Bland. “The rebate from KCP&L, along with the federal incentives, bridges the gap between the costs to install the system and the market value of the system. I foresee a day pretty soon when these incentives will not be necessary, but for now, we are grateful and it generates, no pun intended, an ability to install a power system that saves thousands of tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses. Plus, we think the canopy looks really cool up on the roof.”