Brundage Management Co. Inc., which operates self-storage facilities under the A-AAAKey Mini Storage brand, was presented the Bill Sinkin Solar Award on June 20 for adding solar-panel systems to 11 of its facilities in San Antonio, Texas. The company received the honor during a ceremony at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio from city officials and Build San Antonio Green (BSAG), a green-building program that works with builders and developers to certify green homes in the city.

William R. “Bill” Sinkin was a community activist for equality, international cooperation and alternative energy in San Antonio. In 1999, he founded the nonprofit organization Solar San Antonio to encourage the use of solar and other renewable, sustainable energy sources. In 2003, he launched the Metropolitan Partnership for Energy, which became BSAG in 2008. Sinkin passed away in February 2014.

Brundage is the largest owner of “net metered” solar-energy properties in the city, according to the source. The systems are expected to generate 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity for a savings of $93,000 annually and reduce the company’s electricity usage by 75 percent, the source reported. The solar panels were installed by Self Reliant Solar, an Austin, Texas-based manufacturer and provider of solar-panel power.

Brundage plans to expand installations at its properties in San Antonio to bring the company’s total generation capacity to 1 megawatt of power. When complete, the combined systems are expected to generate 1.25 million kilowatt hours of solar power per year, and save the company $125,000 annually and more than $3 million over the next 25 years.

“These solar-energy systems will allow us to control our electricity costs for years to come while electricity rates rise over time,” said Tom Brundage, president of Brundage Management.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, Brundage provides third-party management services including human resources, employee recruitment and training, advertising, accounting, licensing and auditing, information technology, representation on state and national boards and governing bodies, and long-term strategic planning. A-AAAKey operates more than 40 self-storage facilities throughout Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

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