'Clean, simple and safe' energy grows in popularity

Tag : transformer module

As the sun grows the corn, it also makes power on the roof of ametal building -- anywhere from 150 to 750 kilowatt hours per day,or enough to meet the needs of 15 typical houses.
The solar power plant at the Hamlin Cos.' shop near Benson, whichmakes duct work, is a sign of what may come. The 107,000-wattsystem is among the largest in the state but will soon be eclipsedby even bigger systems.
Solar energy, proponents say, is on the cusp of a big wave. Theyare optimistic because:
The solar-energy industry is no longer in its infancy. Thetechnology, and those who install it, have made great strides withmore efficient systems and more professional installers.
Solar energy makes sense for environmental and economic reasons,experts say. A solar water heater system can cut residentialutility bills by as much as 30 percent.
North Carolina's legislators are pushing renewal energy. By 2021,utilities must get 12.5 percent of customers' power needs fromrenewal energy such as solar power or through energy efficiencies.
The potential of solar power is affecting all segments of themarket -- from energy giant Duke Power to small companies inFayetteville.
In June, Duke Power announced plans to install up to 850 solarpanels throughout North Carolina at a cost of $100 million. Homes,schools, stores and factories will get solar panels. The idea is toproduce power where it is used, rather than at large plants.
Duke is also partnering with SunEdison on a solar farm in DavidsonCounty. The proposed 16-megawatt facility would be the largestphotovoltaic solar facility in the country. SunEdison hopes to beoperational by late 2010. All of the electricity generated would goto Duke. The solar panels would supply enough energy to meet thedemands of 2,600 homes.
Progress Energy Carolina and SunPower Corp. are developing a1-megawatt solar farm in Cary.
Manufacturers are also taking advantage of the growing interest insolar power.
The DuPont plant in northern Bladen County makes components used inabout 40 percent of solar panels produced annually, said SteveKalland of the North Carolina Solar Center. The center is part ofN.C State University and is the state's clearinghouse for renewableenergy programs and research.
Sencera International Corp. announced recently it will invest $36.8million to build a solar-module factory in Mecklenburg County. Thestate gave the company $62,000 from the One North Carolina Fund and$100,000 from the the state's Green Business fund. Charlotte andMecklenburg County will give Sencera about $1 million over threeyears -- equal to 90 percent of what the company will pay inproperty taxes during that time -- to satisfy the local matchrequirements of the Green Fund grant.
It's not only the big boys who see opportunity. Hamlin has been inthe roofing business for 54 years. When company officials startedlooking at solar energy, they soon realized it was more than anadd-on.
"This is not a roofing accessory," said William Hamlin, theexecutive vice president of Hamlin Energy Solutions. "This is apower plant on someone's roof."
In March, the company installed 24,000 square feet of photovoltaicstrips on the roof of the Benson plant. The panels are connected sothat if one panel goes out, the remaining panels continue to work.
The panels have semi-conductors that turn sunlight into power. Peakproduction is between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Inverters convert the electricity to alternating current. Theoutput immediately goes to a transformer owned by South RiverElectric Membership Corp.
The solar panels provide about 30 percent of the shop's needs.
Hamlin invested about $760,000 in its solar roof. A scaffoldingallows people to climb up to see the thin, purple tiles.
The company uses the roof for both training and demonstrations.Most of all, Hamlin said, they try to show potential customers thatsolar energy is "clean, simple and safe."
Giving solar a shot
Alternative Energy Concepts of Fayetteville is another company thatspun into the business.
When the owners of Intelect Inc. -- an electrical contractor inFayetteville -- looked into solar, they also decided they neededtheir own separate company. They formed Alternative EnergyConcepts.
"We knew electrical work -- there was no mystery there," saidJoseph Sheffield of Alternative Energy Concepts.
But there was a learning curve in understanding solar, he said. Theinquiries have been nonstop since the company opened several monthsago. It can install solar, wind or hydroelectric systems.
Some of the interest has been in installing solar hot water-heatingsystems. During the mid-1970s, such systems were popular but bulkyand not always reliable.
Today's technology still uses large panels that are 4 feet by 8feet. But they are more efficient. Distilled water circulatingthrough the panels heats up, then runs through a control panel.Water from a hot-water heater also flows through the control panel.
The systems are separate, but the heat is transferred. Thatdecreases the need for the water heater's electrical element.
Fayetteville lawyer Graham Gurnee and his wife, Elizabeth,consulted the book "Solar Energy For Dummies" when they consideredinstalling a system.
They decided to install a system at their home. Elizabeth Gurneesaid the foremost reason was environmental. The second waseconomic; with federal and state tax credits, their system will payfor itself in about four years.
Tax credits can pay for as much as 65 percent of a solar-energysystem. The credits are needed, said Kalland of the North CarolinaSolar Center, to offset the high cost. But the costs are comingdown, and Kalland predicts by 2020 the cost of producing solarpower should be about the same as conventional electricity.
Kalland does not expect solar to supplant conventional plants. Henoted that today's largest solar plant produces about 20 megawattsof power. In comparison, the average conventional coal plantproduces 800 megawatts daily.
Staff writer Don Worthington can be reached atworthingtond@fayobserver.com or 486-3511.
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