Thomas Harbinson finds it a little ironic that old factories were the original solar energy users — their high ceilings lined with glass skylights to take advantage of the sunlight during work hours.
Nestled under 525 solar panels on the roof of a former canon-building factory on the banks of the Housatonic River, Harbinson’s company IDA International Inc. is bringing back sun power in a major way.
Solar panels installed in February have been offsetting more than 100 percent of IDA’s energy needs for the past four months, Harbinson said. IDA fabricates and installs building facades, such as the front of the Good Morning America building in New York City.
“Now we’re not spending a dime on electricity,” Harbinson said.
All the savings are put toward paying off the solar panels, which cost IDA about $500,000, after state contribution and federal tax credits. Within eight years, Harbinson expects to have fully paid for the cost of the panels and installation.
The panels have an expected life of 25 years, so Harbinson said he should get almost 20 years worth of free electricity out of the deal.
“It made sense financially,” he said.
See more about IDA’s panels at the company blog.
Solar Mania
A bird’s‑eye-view of the Valley shows that several other companies have caught on to the solar-panel craze.
In Shelton, Honey Cell Inc. has more than 1,000 solar panels on its roof.
And at Seymour’s industrial park, at least two companies are taking advantage of the sun’s power. Thule Inc., which manufactures sporting racks for vehicles, and Basement Systems, which waterproofs and finishes basements, have frosted their roofs with the shiny black panels.
But they didn’t purchase the panels like Harbinson. The two companies each entered an agreement with third-party investors, who pay for the installation and the panels and then sell the energy at a reduced cost to the companies.
The investor takes advantage of any tax breaks or grant money that’s available, and the companies get to use solar power at a reduced price without making a large investment.
“It was an easy way to get into solar, and it was good to the environment,” said Karl Wiedemann, communications manager for Thule. “We were going to be buying energy anyway, so we might as well do this.”
Solar Power = Recycling and Planting?
On a recent overcast day, Basement Systems Marketing Manager Dan Fitzgerald looked out the company’s windows down unto the 57,000 square-foot warehouse that was erected last year. Half of the roof is lined with several solar panels, which soaked in whatever sun they could. The company expects the panels to produce all of the electricity for the new building.
“It’s kind of like with suntanning,” Fitzgerald said. “The sun might not be shining, but you’re always getting a little bit of color.”
The same day, Wiedemann climbed the yellow ladder up to Thule’s roof, and examined that company’s 1,800 panels. They offset about 26 percent of the company’s energy use — or about 318 kilowatts a year.
The companies each have cutesy ways of explaining how much energy they get from the sun.
Basement systems says their system is the environmental equivalent to planting 100,000 trees. At Honey Cell, it’s like recycling 3.8 million 12-oz. cans.
Harbinson compares his energy output to the amount of energy an average home uses.
“I generate in one day what a house uses in one month,” Harbinson said.
Business Sense
Before the panels were installed, IDA started cutting back its energy use. Electricity costs were up, so Harbinson started posting charts (like this one) and energy saving tips around the break rooms and time clocks to make employees more informed.
With changes in behavior, and moves like installing energy efficient lighting, the company was able to drop its energy consumption by 40 percent before installing the panels.
Harbinson said using being more energy efficient, and using solar power, is a good business move and isn’t just for a “nuts-and-berries” type of businesses.
For more information on grants for clean energy, go to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund’s Web site.
