A Sedona family is taking advantage of Arizona’s sunny days by taking a giant leap forward in solar-powered energy.

George and Claudine Moore, owners of La Tierra Plaza, recently installed 297 solar panels on four carport structures to complement the new office space they’re building on Highway 89A across from Airport Road.

The 52,000 kilowatt hour photo voltaic system will produce 75 percent of the energy required for the new 15,000 square foot office building, said Brad Moore, the owners’ son who is managing the photo voltaic project.

A Sedona family is taking advantage of Arizona’s sunny days by taking a giant leap forward in solar-powered energy.

George and Claudine Moore, owners of La Tierra Plaza, recently installed 297 solar panels on four carport structures to complement the new office space they’re building on Highway 89A across from Airport Road.

The 52,000 kilowatt hour photo voltaic system will produce 75 percent of the energy required for the new 15,000 square foot office building, said Brad Moore, the owners’ son who is managing the photo voltaic project.

Although the new La Tierra office space will primarily receive its electricity from the sun, it will be connected to Arizona Public Service electricity through a grid tied system.

APS provides a 1-for-1 kilowatt hours trade, so if the building produces 1,000 kWh in surplus, it will flow into the electrical grid and APS will give back 1,000 kWh when the building’s demand is greater than its supply — like a cloudy day or after dark, Moore said.

According to Ray Williamson, utilities engineer for the Arizona Corporation Commission, photo voltaic projects like La Tierra’s help reach the state’s requirement that 15 percent of energy must come from renewable sources by 2025.

ACC encourages projects, like La Tierra, that team up with APS for joint applications, Williamson said.

The Moores’ goal was to create an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, upscale office building, Moore said.

By installing the panels as the roof for the carports, they’re killing two birds with one stone, he said — producing clean, renewable energy and providing shaded parking for tenants, without the added materials for a roof.

And tenants will benefit from the photo voltaic system by reducing their energy bill, he said.

“It reduces the peak energy demand of the building,” Moore said, “and we’ll sell them [the tenants] energy at a reduced rate.”

Moore, who admits he has a “passion for renewables,” said he started the project with a financial analysis in January 2008 and said the photo voltaic project and the office building will be complete by the end of the year.

To help pay for the panels, Moore received a renewable energy grant from the federal government.

“It was a lot of work, but worth our effort and well worth our time,” he said. With over 150 pages submitted with the grant application, Moore’s grant received the highest score in Arizona, he said.

Payback in Sedona could take five to 10 years for a typical project, Moore said, but it’s project dependent and takes into consideration tax incentives, utility rebates and a reduction of peak pricing.

Moore credits the success of the project with his parents’ vision and the “awesome” performances of all parties involved in the design and construction — Moore Builders, Tom Lepely, Gort Metals and Al McNulty Electronics.

To describe his own feelings on renewable energy, Moore quoted Thomas Edison in conversation with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone.

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy,” Edison said in 1931. “I hope we don’t have to wait ’til oil and coal run out before we tackle

that.”

Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com