For Jan Grogan it was an idea that made sense. The north Fayette resident just completed the installation of 54 solar panels on the roof of her barn.

That is 930 square feet of generating power that will substantially offset the electric needs of her mini-farm off Ga. Highway 92.

A veteran of the plastics and energy industry, Grogan sees the move as a way to do something to address skyrocketing energy costs. She hopes others will find projects of their own, large or small, that will reduce their dependence on conventional forms of energy.

Grogan worked with Barnesville-based Solar Source for the planning and installation of the $100,000 solar array and battery back-up system. It is a total system that will pay back her entire investment over 25 to 30 years, based on estimated increases in the cost of electricity for that period, Grogan said.

The computer-driven system that handles the power production of the 54 180-watt panels is a work of technical art.

The panels are producing 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month and are expected to generate ad additional 100-200 kilowatt hours once several trees near the barn are trimmed, said Solar Source’s George Andrews.

Those numbers represent a substantial percentage of the electric needs of the average home, he said.

Grogan’s net metering system with Fayette-Coweta EMC provides her with the way to pull power from the company’s system and sell excess energy back to the company.

With the savings being generated and energy being channeled to the panel of inverters and battery back-ups in one corner of the barn, her horses are not likely to mind a little inconvenience, she said.

A breakdown of the cost and saving showed that Grogan’s solar panel array and battery back-up system was $100,000, a cost offset by state and federal tax credits totaling $12,500. But the real savings comes in the form of the money she will save on energy costs needed to run her home, barn and other outbuildings. Based on an assumed utility inflation rate of 8 percent per year, Grogan should expect to save $94,035 in utility costs over the next 25 years, Andrews said.

Andrews said the project will hit a monetary break-even point in 10 years or less, assuming an appreciation in property value. Without any appreciation, the break-even point will come in 14 years, he said.

And in terms more environmentally conscious factors such as carbon dioxide, the system will save 267 tons of greenhouse gases over 25 years, the equivalent of 534,000 vehicle miles.

But for Jan Grogan, the issue is much larger than the solar panels that cover the roof of her barn. The issue is personal, and one that impacts every American.

“I have 30 years in the energy-related field. I know what the oil industry thinks and I know what energy companies are going to do,” she explained. “We’ve got to do something to reduce our dependence on this finite resource. And whether this generation or next, we’re going to pay a price. Large projects or small, everybody can do something.”

Adhering to her own message, Grogan has even more projects in mind. She expects to begin installation of a geothermal system for heating and cooling needs in the coming moths and a gray water recycling system sometime next year.

Affecting Georgians throughout the state, the Public Service Commission approved another rate hike for electric providers such as Georgia Power beginning June 1.

The increase allows the company to charge 3.8239 cents per kilowatt hour to go toward energy purchases the companies need to buy energy generating commodities such as coal and nuclear fuel.

And across America, utility bills have increased nearly 30 percent in the past five years, coal has doubled in price since 2007 and natural gas prices have increased nearly 50 percent, according to a June 16 story in USA Today.

login to post comments