Opelika gauges effectiveness of solar panel use

Nov 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Drew Taylor Opelika-Auburn News, Ala.

In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, Opelika City Hall has taken proactive steps over the past several months of utilizing solar panels for electricity.

First installed in March, the building uses 119 high-efficiency, 230-watt solar panels to power the uninterruptible power supply as the building's electrical generator.

Funding for the project came through Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs in February 2010, totaling $188,900. Initially, the city had committed to pay a $75,000 match for the project, but only had to pay over $11,600 due to local funds being available. The panels were installed in March 2012 by Instrument Technical Services.

"We had this opportunity and we decided to participate in it," Mayor Gary Fuller said.

Fuller said that since installing the panels, the city has been interested in gauging the usage of the panels at City Hall and reporting its findings to the general public in hopes of educating interested people who would like to invest in solar energy.

"Part of our exercise is to let our citizens know what our experience is in the city," Fuller said. "We're going to share our results and they can use that information however they want to."

According to Fuller, Opelika Power Services and SunPower Monitoring System have been monitoring the use of the panels and have recorded the results taken from March through September.

The results indicate the total estimated charges for electricity without the panels rounding upwards of $26,000, while utilizing the panels brought the charges down to less than $23,000. In total, an estimated $3,180 was saved, or $454 per month.

Despite the emphasis on promoting solar energy, Fuller said the process is expensive and that it would take between 10 to 15 years to recoup the funds put into the project. However, Fuller said he is still willing to take advantage of the project.

"We understand folks are looking at solar or different forms of energy and we're all in favor of that," Fuller said.

One crucial aspect of the grant, Fuller said, was that it was invested in taxpayer money and that although he wasn't sure about the long-term financial status of the project, but that he was interested in seeing the shape it would take over the next five years.

"I'm going to be really interested in watching this over the years ... ," Fuller said. "I think part of our mission is to try to do what we can to conserve energy and to be good stewards of the taxpayer's money."

Fuller said that if the panels prove to be financially sound, there may be recommendations in the future to convert other city buildings to solar panel technology.