Thanks to a Hopedale-based solar energy business, the local church will be shedding itself of electric bills.
“We’re very excited about it,” said Barbara Evans, a member of the First Universalist Society. “We look at it as a win-win for all. It’s a win for (the solar) company, it certainly is a win for us in getting free electricity, and it’s a win for the environment, and that’s certainly something we can all get behind and embrace.”
Second Generation Energy, based in Hopedale and specializing in solar panel installation, began putting up 44 solar panels on First Universalist Society’s roof this week, partly to advertise the benefit of solar panel energy to the community, and partly out of neighborly spirit.
“Like most churches now, they are not well-capitalized, let’s say, and every little bit helps,” Second Generation co-owner Edward Whitaker said. “We thought this would be a good thing for us to help them like this.”
The retail value of the solar system is $77,000, said Whitaker, but the state will reimburse 30 percent of that.
The panels are expected to give out 14,000 kilowatt hours annually, which matches the church’s electric needs for the year, eliminating electric bills.
The system also comes with a remote monitoring system so church members can check a website and see how much energy the panels are collecting. Evans, who is also the head of the society’s asset committee, said the society hopes to use this component to teach the congregation’s children about renewable energy.
“This is very much in sync with our principals: Being responsible about our planet and our lives,” Evans said. “The proposal was presented to the congregation and they embraced it.”
Second Generation will own and maintain the panels for six years before turning them over to the society for $1.
“In addition to being a good community member, we think that when people see examples of real, working solar systems, they realize that it’s an affordable, realistic option for them,” Whitaker wrote in an email. “And we hope they call us!”
The system doesn’t require much maintenance, Whitaker said. The panels should last 30 to 40 years. If the church chooses to keep the remote monitoring system after the first six years, it would have to shell out $250 per year.
SOURCE: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1090704589/Hopedale-company-donates-installs-solar-panel-on-Franklin-church
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