Thursday, August 21, 2014
Fire Company makes the jump to Green Energy
CAPITAL REGION
Solar Panels Installed at Fire District #2 in Rotterdam
ROTTERDAM, N.Y. -- Rotterdam residents are hoping for some more sunny days now that District Two's Fire Station on Curry Road is going solar.
The station had that last of 160 panels installed Thursday on its roof.
One of the district's commissioners says the roof had to be replaced anyway, so they figured they would save the tax payers some money by moving the station to solar energy. The panels will produce about 60 percent of the building's energy.
Over the next 20 years the panels are expected to save more than $47,000.
"It could increase, looking at $47,000 now, a couple thousand dollars a year in savings. Knowing that as they go along in the process it will go higher," said Rotterdam Fire District 2 Commissioner Frank Zadlo.
"This system is going to produce a lot more during the summer and a lot less during the winter, so as they go along in the summer they'll be crediting their account to help them through the shorter winter days," said Chris Delucia, operations manager for Monolith Solar.
Monolith Solar says the fire department entered into a power purchase agreement which means no money down for the installation of the panels.
South Colonie Schools have plans to GREEN their roof!
Monolith Solar - Thursday, August 21, 2014
Solar-powered schools planned in South Colonie
The South Colonie schools are on track to have the largest solar array of any district in New York State.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has approved funding for more than 5,700 solar panels to be spread across each of the district’s eight schools and on the administrative building, transportation department offices and athletic fields at Colonie Central High School. When installed, school officials have said, it could save the district $1.7 million over the next 20 years and provide almost all its power.
The district’s proposal is undergoing a standard engineering review by the state Education Department before the work can begin, but Superintendent Jonathan Buhner is optimistic the panels can be installed this fall.
“My understanding is once you get the approval, things can move pretty quickly,” Buhner said.
The system would be put in place at no direct cost to South Colonie taxpayers.
The district has a contract with Monolith Solar Associates of Rensselaer to do the work. The firm would own the system, and the district would pay Monolith a fixed rate for electricity over 20 years of 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour. That is half what the district now pays, a figure that would normally be expected to rise in coming years. The district expects to save $64,000 the first year the system is running.
The Rensselaer firm would install the system free of charge, would maintain it and recoup some of its costs through tax incentives.
NYSERDA is providing about $1.8 million of a cost of about $5.5 million, spokesman Alan Wechsler said.
At a total of 1.7 megawatts, the system would be the largest for a school district in New York state, he said. The next largest is the 1.2 megawatt system in the Queensbury Union Free School District.
The district expects to save $90,000 to $100,000 a year in expenses. For the coming school year, Buhner said, he budgeted a third less to give time for the system to be installed and running.
“The one thing we do know is we’re going to save a lot of money,” he said. “Some of our smaller buildings will produce enough energy for about all their use.”
Monday, August 4, 2014
Special Thanks!
Special Thanks! goes out to all our team members, despite the heat this week they kept moving the projects forward. These guys are amazing. The heat on your roof is about ten degrees hotter then ground temperature. Neat fact about solar is that it actually helps cool the building, all that heat that was being absorbed by the building is now turning into energy!
Solar savings generate funds to aid animals at local shelter
Posted: Saturday, August 2, 2014 12:30 am
The Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA has had solar panels running on its new building for the past 10 days, helping to offset utility costs.
Monolith Solar Associates, of Rochester, installed solar panels at no cost at the Humane Society’s new facility, which opened in March and had a grand opening May 31.
“Talks about installing solar panels began nearly a year ago when we were planning the new facility,” said Ron Perez, president of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA. “We did some research to try to find the best deal that could provide the most electricity before we went with Monolith.”
The addition of the solar panels can offset electric utility costs by 25 percent, according to a Monolith press release.
The Humane Society factored a savings of 60 percent on utility costs, Perez said.
“We’ve had them running for 10 days,” he said. “If trends continue as we’ve monitored, it is looking like we can offset utility costs by around 80 percent.”
An 80 percent reduction on electric costs is a “massive savings,” he said.
“Heating, cooling and lighting our facility comes at a high cost and takes a toll on our budget, not to mention the environment,” Perez said. “To minimize the effects of costly energy consumption on both our bottom line and the environment, we made the decision to go solar. Thanks to Monolith, we will see a significant savings in our electricity costs, allowing us to allocate more funding to where it is most needed—directly to providing the highest level of care for our community’s animals.”
Monolith installs free solar panels and when the panels are operational, the customer leases them from Monolith for a monthly fee, said Gwennan Booth, public relations manager for Gramercy Communications, which represents Monolith.
However, nonprofit organizations are eligible for Monolith’s power purchase agreement program, “which allows organizations that have zero tax liability to gain access to solar through our lease option. (The) only bill from Monolith Solar (for nonprofit organizations) is a monthly electric charge for the solar produced at a discounted rate, as compared to your current utility rate,” according to the company’s website, www.monolithsolar.com.
“We commend (the Humane Society) for their forward-thinking decision to go solar,” said Monolith President and CEO Mark Fobare, in a press release. “Large facilities clearly incur higher energy costs and can reap remarkable savings benefits from solar energy in addition to being more environmentally responsible. The system was designed to produce the needs of their anticipated energy usage. They only pay for the power they use and that cost is 20 percent less than what they would have paid to the utility company.”
Stever Erby, vice president of Monolith, added to Fobare’s remarks.
“The Humane society does not pay for the install or maintenance, but they pay us like they would a utility company, but at a very reduced rate,” he said. “About 80 percent of a normal utility bill, which adds up to a lot of savings.”
Perez said he is just happy to be able to allocate more funds to help the animals.
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