When viewers tune in for KOLD News 13’s weather forecast, they now can find out how many homes were powered by solar and wind energy that day.

KOLD is believed to be the only TV station in the country to air a solar and wind energy report as part of the news.

The segment, which began in October, is part of a unique partnership between KOLD and Tucson Electric Power to educate customers about our renewable energy efforts. Viewers can see real-time graphics of solar and wind energy output, explained by Chief Meteorologist Lisa Villegas.

“We are so excited to incorporate this into our weathercasts,” said Erik Breon, KOLD News Director. “I can’t think of another station in the country that is using real-time solar and wind energy information from the utility to tell the weather story.”

For the past year, TEP has provided real-time solar and wind energy information on the tep.com website. But the company wanted to further promote that information on the news, said Laura Rodriguez, Manager of Client Services and Communications for TEP. During daily broadcasts, viewers can see how solar energy production drops when it’s cloudy and how it increases on sunny days.

TEP gets nearly 13 percent of its energy from renewable resources, enough to power more than 115,000 homes – nearly a third of the homes in Tucson.

“Many customers aren’t aware of how much of their energy comes from renewable resources,” said Joe Salkowski, TEP Director of Corporate Communications and Community Relations. “These updates inform KOLD viewers about the levels of wind and solar energy we’re delivering every day.”

Viewers can watch the solar and wind energy updates every day during the 5 p.m. news. One day a week, the segment also airs at noon, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.