Largest solar canopy in Kansas City area supports 75kW solar array in Crossroads Arts District

Feb. 16, 2012 - PRLog -- Travois Holdings, Inc., a private Kansas City-based company with 32 employees, has added an extensive renewable energy system to power its headquarters, located at 310 W. 19th Terrace in the Crossroads Arts District. 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.”

Travois Holdings is made up of five companies that offer a wide range of housing and economic development services, centered primarily on the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit and New Markets Tax Credit programs, to American Indian tribes. Three of its companies are focused on helping tribal clients become environmentally sustainable:
• Travois Design & Construction Services designs energy-efficient, LEED-certified homes and buildings;
• Travois Environmental Services helps tribes save and create renewable energy across the country;
• Travois New Markets helps tribes finance economic development, including Energy Service Companies (ESCOs).

About Travois
Travois is the leading housing and economic development consulting firm in Indian Country. Since 1995, Travois has brought $400 million in private equity capital to Indian Country, which has helped build or rehabilitate nearly 4,000 homes through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and has raised more than $30 million in New Markets Tax Credit investor equity, leveraging a total of $110 million in Indian Country debt and equity financing for economic development projects. The Travois family of companies offers housing and economic development assistance, architectural design and inspection services, environmental assessments, consulting on green energy improvements, asset management services and comprehensive training to the nation's American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian population with clients in 17 states, from Hawaii to Maine. For more information, please visit www.travois.com.

About Solar and Wind KC
Solar and Wind KC was founded by Andrew Homoly, a licensed professional engineer with LEED and Certified Green accreditation. The company is affiliated with Homoly Construction, the “green building” construction company founded by Homoly in 1997.