San Antonio Business Journal – by Mike W. Thomas

Following a successful test run, Cinco Solar Inc. has landed its first big contract to provide solar heated water for the Army Residence Community (ARC).

Earlier this year, Cinco Solar installed a solar hot water system for the retirement community’s assisted living facility — 30 rooms — and helped ARC obtain an Energy Star rating for its planned 16,408-square-foot Wellness Center.

Because that project worked out so well, ARC has now signed a contract with Cinco Solar to provide solar hot water for all of its nearly 600 residents.

The contract amount is for $414,000 and guarantees that ARC will have adequate hot water to replace its natural gas heating system.

Bruce Chittenden, director of finance and personnel at ARC, says they anticipate savings of $3,400 per month and that the system will pay for itself in about eight years.

“After that we will have free hot water,” Chittenden says.

Fitch Hollis, CEO of Cinco Solar, says the thermal solar unit that will be installed on top of the ARC’s 13-story residence community will be the largest solar heating system in San Antonio and probably one of the largest in the United States.

“This is three or four times larger than the project they have at the Pearl Brewery,” Hollis says, referring to a 200-kilowatt array of solar panels installed atop the Full Goods Building as part of a solar energy project funded in part by CPS Energy.

Hollis says the solar thermal system for ARC will use 180 evacuated tube collectors that will heat the water and then pipe it down to storage tanks for use by the ARC residents.

Hollis anticipates the project will take 12 weeks to complete.

Cinco Solar was founded in 2007 in response to the growing interest in renewable energy. The company designs and installs high-quality renewable energy systems for both commercial, industrial and residential customers.

Hollis Fitch III is CEO of Cinco Solar Inc. His company is working with Army Residence Community to help cut the retirement center’s utility bill.

The Army Residence Community, at 7400 Crestway near Randolph Air Force Base, is a self-contained retirement community founded in 1987 and is home to 600 retired career military officers representing all branches of service, their spouses, widows and widowers.

Cinco Solar Inc.

What: Installs renewable energy systems CEO: Fitch Hollis Employees: 7 Address: 2747 Trinity View, San Antonio, TX 78261 Tel.: 830-885-5110

Web site: www.cincosolar.com

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