Workers braved the heat recently to install these solar panels on the roof of Colonial Orthopedics in Colonial Heights. The solar slates are made and installed by U.S. Green Energy of Spotsylvania.
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Not just a roof, but a tremendous waste of money.
A 2300 sq ft roof of these PV collectors costs over $60,000 installed.
That roof will generate $500 LESS in electricity RETAIL than the interest value of money each year.
During their ENTIRE 20 year life, the PV roof will generate power that Dominion makes wholesale for less than $5000 with coal or nuclear.
That’s right, $60,000 spent now for a lifetime payback of $5000 total.
That’s the REAL, unsubsidized price.
Subsidies are just money stolen from others to make a bad investment seem better.
Perhaps the doctors realize the ridiculous subsidies for nuclear and coal power, and recognize that, unlike coal and nuclear power, these solar panels will not threaten the environment and health of their community.
Furthermore, the doctors are most likely receiving Solar Renewable Energy Credits and selling them, making this a better investment that includes reduced and more predictable energy bills.
In addition, perhaps the good doctors will be better able to serve their patients in a brownout or blackout. In other words, good disaster recovery for their practice.
Kudos to them! Here’s to more and more renewable energy replacing dirty fossil fuels!
SREC’s sell for 55 cents/kw-hr in the PJM interconnect.
That’s compared to 8 cents RETAIL for power or 1.4 cents/kw-hr wholesale in the Dominion system.
It’s a subsidy stealing money from the ratepayers. Stealing money from other businesses who pay for power with embedded charges to pay that 55 cents for power worth 1.4.
Walmart is suing a utility in New England for trying to stiff them with similar “green” power from wind turbines priced at 35 cents/kw-hr.
And grid-tied panels typically do NOT produce power during grid power outages as their inverters need the synchronization and peak load stabilization of the grid to function. I doubt seriously if the good doctors have loaded up a room with eco-friendly lead-acid batteries to allow off-grid operation during a blackout.
Solar panels such as these in this area are religious symbols of green piety, not a sound business decision.
First point matters, Sweeney- Perhaps the doctors realize the ridiculous subsidies for nuclear and coal power, and recognize that, unlike coal and nuclear power, these solar panels will not threaten the environment and health of their community.
Prices for energy will be going up, but prices for solar modules are getting cheaper and cheaper. A new Duke University study says that solar makes more sense than nuclear for North Carolina.
http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/renewable-energy/solar-energy/photovoltaic/7686
Another aspect to consider- Even if the doctors do not have the storage, their grid tied energy ensures that Dominion has upgraded their area’s grid to accomodate the distribution- and that itself will help the neighborhood’s power resiliency. Unfortunately, Dominion is now trying to regulate this aspect out of existence and force residents who install solar to pay for upgrades that Dominion should do regardless of the solar.
Speaking of WalMart- would love to see solar on stores here-
http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/news/9990.aspx
Or donating money for getting solar on our schools-
http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/news/walmart-donates-1-2-million-to-put-solar-power-on-schools/
Virginia, and Richmond in particular, has some of the oldest school buildings in the country. Why not upgrade and renovate school roofs and add solar at the same time? It would create disaster recovery in every neighborhood. Remember, solar was the only power in New Orelans after Katrina. Solar panels on schools could generate power even when the schools were empty during summer vacation.
I hope that the installers are using heavy duty brackets securing these panels to the roof as this location has had two tornado’s roll thru in the past. I’d hate to watch my investment fly away in a heavy storm.
Ridiculous subsidies for coal and nuclear?
And what might they be?
And remember, a subsidy is NOT when the government ALLOWS you to keep your own money, it’s when government TAKES from others to GIVE it to you.
These solar panels threaten not the environment, but the economy, by placing business capital into non-productive uses.
And Dominion doesn’t have to upgrade ANYTHING to accept such a pittance of power as produced by this overpriced solar roof. The ENTIRE output of the roof at noon at the sunniest day of the year will not start even a single residential heatpump. Not ONE.
Federal subsidies:
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/article_redirect.cfm?ID=13980
http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/downloads/2010-04-13-FedCoalReport.pdf
And you are wrong about Dominion. There are many citizens who understand the games the company is playing with its antique grid.
Dear Mr. Sweeny.
Perhaps the article isn’t clear on these units. ONE of those pannels they’re laying down pumps out around 2KW. They over-produce typically. They are designed to not use batteries to run offline at night but rather you draw off the grid at night and redeem credits you earn during the day for any current your units produce that you don’t use. So, if your building only uses say, 2KW that day, but produced 12KW, you’d get that in credits that get used during the night instead of batteries. They WILL work with batteries mind you, but that is the customer’s choice, not a requirement.
Over-priced? Dear Sir, I begg you to go and look up the competition, this company produces their products at a far cheaper price than other companies making slate solar roof units now. Also, this roof will be paid off in FIVE YEARS. I refer you to this article…
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/local-tri-cities-news/2010/aug/13/b-roof13-ar-424390/
And I would ask you why you are so bitter about these products? Do you work for an oil or power company by chance?