Fed up with energy costs, Marion man is almost off the grid

Sep 25 - Ocala Star-Banner (FL)

John Werry, a retired telephone company worker and Army reservist, has gone green -- not Army green, but almost-off-the-grid green.

Werry lives alone in a modest home in Golden Hills, near Ocala, equipped with 17 solar panels that produce about 600 kilowatt hours of electricity a month.

It took him watching smoke belch out of a Tampa power plant chimney and dump trucks hauling spent coal ash from the plant to change his mind on how he got his electricity to power his home.

"When I first came up to Ocala in 2007, I wanted to put solar panels on my house," recalled Werry, clad in a Guy Harvey T-shirt and khakis, as he hung wash on a line outside his home recently.

In 2007, that solar panel plan would have cost the retiree $40,000. By 2012, the price tag was a little more than $17,000, and Werry had Solar Trek Inc install the panels.

What changed in five years? Patrick Altier, owner of Solar Trek Inc., said the quality of the panels has improved and prices have dropped primarily because of a 30 percent federal tax incentive.

"Other states have significant deployment of renewable energy programs, so with the supply and demand of solar panels, they have come down, because they're being installed in states like New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and New York," Altier said.

Ironically, the Sunshine State lags much of the country when it comes to going solar, according to Altier.

"We're tragically behind," he said. "We're No. 17 in the country in installations. We're behind Indiana, Georgia, Alabama, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee. States that you would never imagine and those states have a terrible solar window compared to Florida.

"Thirty-eight states have renewable standards or goals while Florida has none," Altier said. "Florida spends about $63 billion to purchase fuels from other states to produce energy."

Among the obstacles here, according to Altier: The state does not allow a company to build a bank of solar panels and sell that power unless they are utilities. Also, there is a lack of consistent viable rebates, with only about five Florida utility companies offering incentives.

Werry said the rising costs of power frustrated him for a long time.

"Ever since I've owned property, I've seen the increase in electricity and don't agree with it," he said. "Then I just saw how the electric companies never looked at ways to improve on their product.

"It's the J.P. Morgans of the world that are robbing us," he added. "I don't mind paying for energy, but I don't like paying for corporations' bottom line. They are not allowing people to have energy at a reasonable price."

Werry said his pre-solar electric bill at this time of year was around $140. Now it's about $30.

"In the wintertime, it's zero -- well, actually $10 (because of a minimum bill to keep his account open)," Werry said. "In the wintertime they owe me, because I'm making electric for the electric company."

Altier explains that Florida passed a net-metering law in 2008. "So if you produce more electricity than you use, you get a credit," he said.

Werry has a solar meter that shows when he's feeding back to the utility grid and when he's using electricity.

For consumers producing more than they consume, most electric companies roll that credit over into an account. At the end of the year, if the utility owes the customer money for energy produced, the company cuts that customer a check.

Jean Henning, conservation and public education specialist with Ocala Utility Services, said the utility offers net metering to homes with solar panels, at no additional cost. It measures the electricity the customer uses and what electricity the solar panels produce.

"We charge about 11.8 cents a kilowatt hour and give back the same to the customer," Henning said.

It will take about 10 years or less to pay off the cost of the panels, according to Werry and Altier.

Werry has gone one step closer to becoming even greener by buying a Tesla Model S electric car. He ordered it online in August 2012 and paid $88,000 for the vehicle when it was delivered to him in April.

The Tesla Model S is not to be confused with a Toyota Prius or a Nissan Leaf: The Tesla does a jaw-dropping 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds as he demonstrated by pulling onto U.S. 27 from the entrance of Golden Hills and heading west.

"I now have a car that is being charged up with the juice from my solar panels," Werry said. "Last year I spent over $8,000 for gas, traveling back and forth, because I have property in Miami. I was driving a '95 Dodge van and a 2001 Mercedes Benz."

Since he's bought the Tesla, Werry said, he uses the gas-powered automobiles "to take trash and recyclables to the dump."

Werry is not completely off the grid. He still has a gas generator at his home should he lose power during a storm, because he has no battery backup.

A battery backup system at Werry's house would not be cost-effective, according to Altier. However, the day may come soon when Werry will be able to use the battery in his Tesla as the backup for his home. Tesla is trying to develop an inverter. If the company is successful, Werry could conceivably use his electric car as a power source for his house.

"So rather invest in a backup, invest that difference in an electric car, eliminate your gas bill, and use the car as your emergency storage," Altier said.

Werry joked as he plugged in his car for a quick charge at his home.

"There are two problems with the car," he said. "Tripping over the cord and running over squirrels, because they can't hear you coming."

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