Just over a year and a half ago, OPEL Solar — a Connecticut-based energy company — installed a rooftop solar energy system at Linden Elementary School in Plainville, Connecticut. It was the first project of its kind in the state, and added Connecticut to a growing list of states with solar energy systems installed atop public elementary schools.
The solar installation at Linden was possible thanks largely to $3 billion in funding from a joint program between the Department of Energy and the Treasury Department. Under the program, cash incentives were extended to companies that manufactured and/or installed renewable energy systems. Earlier this week, OPEL received $179,000 from the joint program to cover a portion of the $1.2 million Linden project.
Cash, as opposed to tax credits, according to OPEL’s Chief Financing Officer (CFO) Mike McCoy, allows his company and others to fund other solar projects faster:
“The direct payment by the U.S. Treasury Department broadens OPEL’s ability to fund new solar projects that will create new jobs and will make inroads for clean solar energy. Our investments in other solar power projects also will contribute to continued growth of the U.S. economy.”
Linden’s solar rooftop system that was completed back in March of 2009. Nicknamed “Sequoia” due to its resemblance to a tree’s root pattern, the solar energy system produces 131 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy each year — enough to account for 20 percent of the school’s total annual electricity consumption and shave $7,000 off the school’s annual utility bill. The solar panels are mounted into a tracking system that rotates east to west with the sun, allowing for 25 percent more sunlight to hit the panels as compared to fixed solar arrays.
OPEL solar has made other recent strides in solar development. On October 28th, OPEL secured a U.S. Patent for its High Concentration Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Module for commercial and industrial buildings and utility-scale solar energy plants. And in February of this year, OPEL received the 2010 Connecticut Green Business Award for Solar Innovation.
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