PG&E has given Marin Family Action a grant to help underwrite our Youth Financial Literacy Program in 2010 so we readily accepted when the company invited us their presentation of $150,000 to The Marine Mammal Center for a new solar installation. The story:

THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER TEAMS UP WITH PG&E TO BRING SOLAR POWER AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES TO ITS SAUSALITO FACILITY

The Marine Mammal Center Receives $150,000 from PG&E for a 20 Kilowatt Solar Installation

SAUSALITO, Calif. – The Marine Mammal Center and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced PG&E’s donation of $150,000 to The Marine Mammal Center for a new solar installation. In addition, PG&E will donate renewable energy educational resources as part of the utility’s Solar Schools Program.

The addition of the new 20 kilowatt solar installation to The Marine Mammal Center’s existing 23 kilowatt array will allow the Center to produce an additional 35,000 kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, the equivalent of powering up to four homes. With this new addition, The Marine Mammal Center is expected to realize an additional savings of $4,000 per year by harnessing the power of the sun.

“The need for education and action in protecting the environment is one of the most critical issues of our time,” said Jeff Boehm, executive director of The Marine Mammal Center. “PG&E, which continues to demonstrate environmental leadership within California and nationwide, is an ideal partner for The Marine Mammal Center as we care for stranded marine mammals and inspire the public to take action to protect the marine environment.” PG&E will also work closely with The Marine Mammal Center to incorporate renewable energy principles into the Center’s existing education program.

“Empowering our customers with the tools and information to reduce their impact on our environment is critical to protecting our local wildlife for generations to come,” said John Simon, senior vice president of human resources for PG&E and board member of The Marine Mammal Center. “We’re honored by the opportunity to support The Marine Mammal Center and its mission to foster marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, and educate our children about the need to preserve the environment.”

For 35 years, over 15,000 animals, such as elephant seals, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, fur seals, dolphins and harbor porpoises have been rescued and treated at The Marine Mammal Center’s hospital. Each year its marine science education programs and events reach over 100,000 school children and members of the general public, helping to foster a sense of responsibility and connection to the marine environment. The Marine Mammal Center’s scientific research program increasingly provides vital information on its sick and injured patients, and this information tells us how their health is indicative of changes in the environment, and how human, marine mammal and ocean health are interrelated. In June 2009, the Center opened its new facility to the public. In addition to major upgrades to its animal care operations, the new facility contains a number of exhibits that are designed to educate visitors and encourage them to steward our shared marine environments.

PG&E’s Solar Schools Program is teaching the value of renewable energy to students. This award-winning program makes science fun and teaches students how their everyday actions can impact the environment. Since its inception in 2004, this shareholder-funded program has contributed more than $9 million to hundreds of northern and central California schools, to provide solar installations for 125 schools and training and grants to over 4,000 teachers, benefiting nearly 275,000 students throughout PG&E’s service area. The program has received national honors, including the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Annual Innovation Award, was named “Education Innovator of the Year” by the San Francisco Business Times and received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, California’s highest and most prestigious environmental honor.