Orchard Park cuts utility bills with solar energy system
State grant used to install solar panels on roof of highway garage
The 704 solar panels on the roof of the Orchard Park Highway Department garage do their work silently, turning the sun’s rays into pollution-free power.
On a bright day, the black, glass-sheathed panels can produce nearly 30 kilowatts of electricity. That’s enough to power 300 light bulbs, at 100 watts each.
It’s also enough to power the Highway Department complex, whose three buildings house a machine shop, vehicle lifts and office equipment.
“We’re looking to save one-third of our electric bill,” Highway Superintendent Frederick J. Piasecki Jr. said.
Area taxpayers have a new reason to wish for sunny days. Local governments and nonprofit organizations across Western New York are installing rooftop solar energy systems, aided by state grants that help the costly equipment overcome the region’s cloudy, snowy climate.
Piasecki’s highway garage is one of six nonresidential projects in Erie County that are creating a total of 160 kilowatts of solar electric capacity. The projects, two at government buildings and four at Catholic schools, are in line for $775,000 in subsidies, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
While towns and schools save money with free solar power, state taxpayers pick up the tab. Statewide, projects now in the works are in line for $2.2 million in grants, and nearly $1 million in incentives are pending.
Another grant program for residential solar power has paid 27 homeowners in Erie and Niagara counties a total of $450,000 to support their rooftop solar projects.
The grants are necessary because at today’s prices for equipment, the cost of solar is greater than the savings it generates, said Tom Lynch, the state authority’s director of public affairs. Only in downstate
areas, where peak electric rates top 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, is solar electricity close to competitive with utility power.
In Orchard Park, for example, the state’s $143,000 equipment grant paid for a system that should save the town $4,000 a year in utility bills. At that rate, the system would pay for itself in about 36 years, Lynch said — but such systems have an expected life of only 20 to 25 years, as the solar cells gradually wear out.
Orchard Park’s solar panels are guaranteed for 20 years, Piasecki said — at which time they’ll probably need to be dismantled to replace the building’s 20-year roof.
But while their cost is relatively high, solar systems installed now will become more economical as electric rates rise, Lynch said. The state’s investment in the technology should also help it become more economical. “As you drive the market, the price of solar is going to come down,” he said.
What’s more, the cost is offset by its environmental benefits, he said. Every watt of solar power displaces energy from coal-or gas-fired plants that spew pollution and greenhouse gases.
Finally, solar power also brings economic-development spinoff benefits for the state, he said, as companies gain solar expertise. Building a knowledge base in renewable power is an important foundation for meeting future energy needs.
“Once you create the market for solar power, then the companies come,” Lynch said.
In August, Gov. David A. Paterson signed a package of bills designed to boost renewable-energy projects. The measures expand provisions for “net metering,” allowing homes and businesses to sell excess energy to the power grid.
Besides saving on utility costs, solar power can generate sales of surplus energy for government coffers. In July, Piasecki’s department received a credit of $215 from New York State Electric & Gas for electricity the town provided to the utility. Usually, the department’s electric bill is $800 to $1,000 a month.
“If there’s extra [power], we sell it back,” Piasecki said. “We’re real happy with it.”
Not surprisingly, more solar power projects are in the works. Orchard Park is taking bids on a rooftop system for its library. Meanwhile, Piasecki said, officials from Amherst, Eden and other towns have contacted him for information as they consider their own projects.
Solar Liberty, an Amherstbased installer, is helping drum up the interest.
“We have approached many municipalities to help them go green,” said Adam K. Rizzo, president of Solar Liberty.
Most recently, the company put a rooftop solar system on the Town of Brant’s highway garage capable of 12 kilowatts of power. “In the two weeks it’s been up, we’ve saved 608 pounds of carbon dioxide that would have been emitted into the atmosphere,” Brant Supervisor Leonard K. Pero said. The estimate is based on the amount of utility power the town has avoided using.
Nonresidential systems can build up to 50 kilowatts of capacity under the grant program. Government buildings and nonprofit organizations can receive $5,000 per kilowatt in subsidies.
The popularity of the state authority’s solar power grants has exhausted its 2008 allocation, Lynch said. However, the state Public Service Commission is considering moving funds allocated for large-scale commercial energy projects into the budget for smaller, rooftop- type systems, he said.
The decision is expected by mid-October. Until then, the state authority continues to collect applications in expectation of fresh funding.
