Area firms try solar powerApr 7 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Ben Conley The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
For 4.5 billion years, the sun has provided life sustaining heat and light to the galaxy through nuclear fusion, a process in which it burns the hydrogen found in its expansive core. While earth's favorite yellow dwarf has kept the lights on in the milky way since the beginning of time, it's only been in the last century or so that man has found a way to harness minute amounts of that solar power to keep the lights on in the living room. Once a struggling enterprise in the face of readily available, and relatively cheap, stores of coal and petroleum, solar power has taken root as prices have risen and concern over the environmental impact of fossil fuels grows. "In the end, it's just a good investment," said Colin Williams, of Mountain View Solar, installers and advocates of solar power, located in Berkeley Springs. "Every year, the price of energy increases. When you invest in solar power, you're paying for energy for years to come, and getting it at today's prices." And you don't need to live in a sun-soaked resort on the coast to catch some rays, according to Williams. "Right now, Germany leads the world in solar energy and West Virginia gets a lot more sunshine than Germany," he said. Williams explained that about 200 homes in the Mountain State get at least some of their power from either rooftop or pole-mounted arrays. That number jumps, he said, when you add in businesses and public facilities, such as courthouses and wastewater treatment plants. One such business, Book Exchange in Evansdale, had 52 solar panels installed in 2010. Store manager Matt Livengood said he's pretty much forgotten the panels were up there. "I haven't had a single problem with them," he said. "They pretty much take care of themselves." Livengood said energy costs are handled at a home office, so he doesn't see the monthly impact, but said, "depending on the weather over time, it will pay for itself in seven years or so." Not bad considering panels are generally guaranteed for at least 20 years. The Morgantown area is also home to the second largest solar power plant in the state, located in Westover atop the Mountain Line Transit Authority's maintenance and administrative facility. According to Mountain Line Executive Director Dave Bruffy, 572 solar panels -- covering about 30,000 square feet -- having a substantial impact on energy costs. "Normally we were looking at between $6,000 and $6,500 every month. Now, we're at $1,200 and under every month," Bruffy said. "Which is great, because we can roll that money back into service." According to the Mountain Line website, the facility's "electric usage was about 323,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), and this solar power project is projected to generate up to 372,519 kWh per year, generating a net positive electric surplus. Through the use of net metering, the surplus power will be fed back into the local energy grid." Bruffy said installation of the panels was one of the easiest construction projects he's been involved in. Maintenance consists of wiping the panels down with a cleaning solution every other year. The move to solar energy is also getting a boost from Uncle Sam. Tax credits at the state and federal level have lessened the impact of the initial investment in hardware. For example, the Residential Solar Energy Tax Credit will cover up to $2,000 of purchase and installation costs. In the case of Mountain Line, a portion of a $164.7 million grant for innovative transit providers committed to reducing harmful emissions, conserving energy and using clean-fuel was awarded. Mountain Line received $1.1 million to fund the project with just a 10 percent match. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=28160144 |