GasBuddy Blog

GasBuddy News Article

votes

Woodbury warming to solar energy

startribune.com -- Last month marked the first anniversary of Woodbury's new Public Safety Building -- and the arrival of a new source of electricity that enables police, fire and emergency workers there to do their jobs.

Workers spent the weekend before Halloween hoisting 185 solar panels, each about 3-by-4-feet in size, atop the building on the roof over the parking garage. Then they worked several days to get the system wired and operating.

The solar array will generate about 40 kilowatts of power under ideal, sunny conditions, "so it's a pretty good size," said Rick Moats, project engineer with Adolfson & Peterson Construction, who led the installation crew.

The solar panels will not only generate power for the new building, but the city's bottom line cost of about $40,000 will bring a return in

Read the Full Article

Submitted Nov 10, 2012 By: teafortwo

Back To News

Category: Daily News Article Discussions > Topics	Add to favorite topics

Author	Topic: Woodbury warming to solar energy	Post a Reply Back to Topics

REPLIES (newest first)Ignore Short Messages

First

Next Last

jrs4125 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,753 Points:590,770 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Nov 12, 2012 6:19:16 AM Ignore jrs4125 Report Abuse Alrighty then
SolarReplaceGas Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:1,005 Points:209,195 Joined:Aug 2012	Message Posted: Nov 11, 2012 10:28:09 AM Ignore SolarReplaceGas Report Abuse Good for Woodbury! Since installing solar panels on the roof of our home, we have generated 70% of our consumption. Some Spring & Fall months our electric bill is $6 (the cost of being connected to the grid).
jrs4125 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,753 Points:590,770 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Nov 11, 2012 10:06:36 AM Ignore jrs4125 Report Abuse Alrighty then
jrs4125 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,753 Points:590,770 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Nov 11, 2012 10:04:57 AM Ignore jrs4125 Report Abuse Alrighty then
Zonk Champion Author Michigan Posts:6,481 Points:2,102,015 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 11:22:59 PM Ignore Zonk Report Abuse 'Thank God' for sunny days.
schatzila Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:4,944 Points:1,015,645 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 9:04:00 PM Ignore schatzila Report Abuse Love the solar
PDQBlues Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,069 Points:1,447,350 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:01:54 PM Ignore PDQBlues Report Abuse As the technology improves and prices come down, solar will become more prevalent in our energy needs.
danindenver Champion Author Denver Posts:5,484 Points:1,237,710 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 2:42:52 PM Ignore danindenver Report Abuse The photovoltaic technology is not quite there to make each household energy-independent, but it could be. With new energy conserving appliances and a shift to "lightweight" LED lighting, we could be, practically speaking, independent if it weren't for a couple of things: 1. Old-school thinking that says that houses should be "little boxes made of ticky-tacky". 2. Homeowners Associations that mandate that every house "all look just the same". 3. Architectural standards that mass-produce ticky-tacky houses in order to maximize profitability without regard to sound energy-efficient design. Not the architects fault, necessarily, as much as the city planners that are afraid to face the angry mobs of neighbors who don't want to see non-ticky-tacky houses in their backyards. Here is the Little Boxes song, btw.
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,509 Points:460,290 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 12:53:30 PM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse "The United States alone has about 69 billion square feet of appropriate residential rooftops that could be generating electricity from the sun," Stevens said. "The sunlight falling on those roofs could generate at least 50 percent of the nation's electricity, and some estimates put that number closer to 100 percent. With earth-abundant technology, that energy could be harvested, at an enormous benefit to consumers and the environment."
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,509 Points:460,290 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 12:52:41 PM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse Atwater, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, and Stevens, a chemist with The Dow Chemical Company, lead a partnership between their institutions to develop new electronic materials suitable for use in solar-energy-conversion devices. Atwater and Stevens described development and testing of new devices made with zinc phosphide and copper oxide that broke records for both electrical current and voltage achieved by existing so-called thin-film solar energy conversion devices made with zinc and copper. The advance adds to evidence that materials like zinc phosphide and copper oxide should be capable of achieving very high efficiencies, producing electricity at a cost approaching that of coal-fired power plants. That milestone could come within 20 years, Atwater said. Stevens helped develop Dow's PowerHouse Solar Shingle, introduced in October 2011, which generates electricity and nevertheless can be installed like traditional roofing. The shingles use copper indium gallium diselenide photovoltaic technology. His team now is eyeing incorporation of sustainable earth-abundant materials into PowerHouse shingles, making them more widely available.
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,509 Points:460,290 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 12:51:58 PM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse New Solar Panels Made With More Common Metals Could Be Cheaper and More Sustainable. With enough sunlight falling on home roofs to supply at least half of America's electricity, scientists today described advances toward the less-expensive solar energy technology needed to roof many of those homes with shingles that generate electricity. Shingles that generate electricity from the sun, and can be installed like traditional roofing, already are a commercial reality. But the advance ? a new world performance record for solar cells made with "earth-abundant" materials ? could make them more affordable and ease the integration of photovoltaics into other parts of buildings, the scientists said. The new photovoltaic technology uses abundant, less-expensive materials like copper and zinc ? "earth-abundant materials" ? instead of indium, gallium and other so-called "rare earth" elements. These substances not only are scarce, but are supplied largely by foreign countries, with China mining more than 90 percent of the rare earths needed for batteries in hybrid cars, magnets, electronics and other high-tech products. Atwater and James C. Stevens, Ph.D., described successful efforts to replace rare earth and other costly metals in photovoltaic devices with materials that are less-expensive and more sustainable.
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,509 Points:460,290 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 12:50:18 PM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse Solar Panel Market to Advance by 15.3% through 2015. A recent report released from publisher Infiniti Research points to further growth for the global solar panel industry. The report finds advances in photovoltaic (PV) technologies will help the global solar panels market to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 15.3% between 2011 to 2015
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,509 Points:460,290 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 12:49:40 PM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse Minneapolis Solar Panels - Largest US Solar Manufacturer. For over 35 years, SolarWorld has been helping homeowners and businesses put the sun to work.
FluffyDogAttack Champion Author Riverside Posts:1,081 Points:95,900 Joined:Oct 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 12:19:32 PM Ignore FluffyDogAttack Report Abuse Smoking the hopium again.
Metrolizer Champion Author Fort Worth Posts:2,015 Points:2,207,630 Joined:Feb 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 9:56:17 AM Ignore Metrolizer Report Abuse >>Under the deal, the project's cost is $290,466.<< >>but the city's bottom line cost of about $40,000 will bring a return in energy savings estimated at more than $100,000 over 20 years, said Bob Klatt, the city's director of parks and recreation.<< So, Mr City Administrator, at the end of 20 years, the taxpayer is still out $190,466? Plus interest. Or is the projection $230,466 unrecovered expenses to own a 20-year-old solar capture system in 2032?
Buck_on_Bass Champion Author Tennessee Posts:7,574 Points:1,455,310 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 9:13:43 AM Ignore Buck_on_Bass Report Abuse At a cost of $1/watt of capacity, this is cheap. Without the incentives, the system is over $7/watt which is not economical.
kirzon484 Champion Author Atlanta Posts:1,861 Points:432,310 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 9:11:17 AM Ignore kirzon484 Report Abuse is this another rabbit hole...
INBwana Champion Author Indiana Posts:5,451 Points:695,010 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 9:03:19 AM Ignore INBwana Report Abuse The article didn't say where these panels were made. I would bet anything that they were made in China.
95Vette Champion Author Missouri Posts:2,520 Points:631,680 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 9:00:33 AM Ignore 95Vette Report Abuse Need more entities going this direction.. especially where there are large roofs that can be covered with solar panels to collect this energy!
Kaiyne Champion Author Chicago Posts:2,334 Points:471,740 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:59:18 AM Ignore Kaiyne Report Abuse Good for Woodbury.
Ebaz Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:3,241 Points:714,335 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:56:48 AM Ignore Ebaz Report Abuse China appreciates your solar interest
dopster Champion Author Toledo Posts:7,269 Points:2,291,275 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:56:36 AM Ignore dopster Report Abuse Good use of solar energy! Good for them!
CC55 Champion Author Georgia Posts:1,310 Points:1,397,485 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:56:01 AM Ignore CC55 Report Abuse Many on this board need to read the all of the story, you might find the info. you seek!!!
rosyLI Champion Author Long Island Posts:5,630 Points:1,067,630 Joined:Apr 2010	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:53:23 AM Ignore rosyLI Report Abuse They are playing a Solyndra suckers game with taxpayer funds.
BillHeatherL Champion Author Alberta Posts:7,638 Points:1,923,655 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:52:36 AM Ignore BillHeatherL Report Abuse hard to see the sun though all the snow we are getting
oppdetcon Champion Author Ottawa Posts:1,431 Points:498,600 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:51:41 AM Ignore oppdetcon Report Abuse Very expensive...
atdinut Champion Author California Posts:1,608 Points:353,985 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:51:07 AM Ignore atdinut Report Abuse In the long run it will save that city money.
#12#_vabchusa All-Star Author Virginia Posts:757 Points:90,820 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:50:29 AM Ignore #12#_vabchusa Report Abuse One small step in the right direction.
sent4456 Champion Author Toronto Posts:1,330 Points:2,125,010 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:49:15 AM Ignore sent4456 Report Abuse What else is new?
jwduke1 Champion Author Iowa Posts:15,604 Points:3,068,265 Joined:Apr 2004	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:48:43 AM Ignore jwduke1 Report Abuse More waste of taxpayers dollars!
findcheap Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:9,592 Points:2,008,900 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:45:51 AM Ignore findcheap Report Abuse inevitable
RangerBob58 Champion Author Dayton Posts:3,112 Points:661,775 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:44:39 AM Ignore RangerBob58 Report Abuse Bet that everybody else paid for them
skybiker Champion Author South Carolina Posts:7,292 Points:1,559,415 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:44:09 AM Ignore skybiker Report Abuse Still too pricy for me...
TravelinMan52 Champion Author Augusta Posts:1,920 Points:962,670 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:43:17 AM Ignore TravelinMan52 Report Abuse Innovative ideas at work all over...
Ticoman54 Champion Author Miami Posts:7,041 Points:1,491,045 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:43:10 AM Ignore Ticoman54 Report Abuse Good to see...
scrossi Champion Author Indiana Posts:3,879 Points:1,047,515 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:42:38 AM Ignore scrossi Report Abuse Agreed ticobird.
freedomsailor Champion Author Naples Posts:2,124 Points:409,695 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:41:45 AM Ignore freedomsailor Report Abuse Woodbury? Is that a little town in the United States?
Fish167 Champion Author North Carolina Posts:3,979 Points:2,477,815 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:41:08 AM Ignore Fish167 Report Abuse ok
ILANGE9 Champion Author Illinois Posts:7,610 Points:1,596,225 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:40:40 AM Ignore ILANGE9 Report Abuse Nothing to do with gas and oil prices.
Ticobird Champion Author Huntsville Posts:3,226 Points:1,115,040 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:35:42 AM Ignore Ticobird Report Abuse As the price of solar goes down we'll see more and more small size installations of solar panels. I've already noticed a few in my general area and when I do I think - well that's a pretty good use to put that land to that would otherwise go unused.
geezrtek Champion Author Michigan Posts:1,902 Points:431,510 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:35:13 AM Ignore geezrtek Report Abuse Yeah Yeah - Gas? Gas Prices? Huh?
northeast2 Champion Author New York Posts:3,849 Points:1,007,200 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:19:16 AM Ignore northeast2 Report Abuse "Under the deal, the project's cost is $290,466. Two Xcel Energy rebates and federal tax credits will go to Adolfson & Peterson, which will initially own the system, Klatt said. That allowed the cost savings from the rebates and tax credits to be passed on to the city. The city will buy the power produced by the system at $416 per month for six years. It will then buy the whole system for about $10,000. The money comes out of the building's operating budget." There is no return on investment for the city. It didn't invest anything. There is no capital outlay. The solar panels and entire system are owned by an independent third party that is selling the electricity produced by the system to the city. The cost of the electricity is less than it was for the building before the installation. Very good financial engineering.
Dennis783 Champion Author Des Moines Posts:13,589 Points:2,702,910 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:18:35 AM Ignore Dennis783 Report Abuse Big up front cost - hopefully it will pay off
APlus Champion Author San Antonio Posts:3,913 Points:990,470 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 8:16:59 AM Ignore APlus Report Abuse Commercial accounts here in San Antonio, TX get up to $100,000 rebate from our utility company (City Public Services) for putting solar panels. They save money on utilities and generate income by selling energy back to our only utility company.
RockCity Champion Author Denver Posts:7,905 Points:1,426,885 Joined:Mar 2009	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:56:38 AM Ignore RockCity Report Abuse Sorry, I'm not sure how to connect the dots. This will enable police, fire, and emergency workers by sending them to school or what, perhaps?
Harry813 Champion Author Iowa Posts:3,000 Points:660,890 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:46:12 AM Ignore Harry813 Report Abuse I hope it works out !
Bobmilan Champion Author Louisville Posts:1,195 Points:474,600 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:44:23 AM Ignore Bobmilan Report Abuse Articles on economics issues bring comments of "what impact on gas prices"? Where are these comments on solar? Total waste unless you believe in global warming that is caused by C02. If you do believe in this, read about the real solution: Biochar.
rogerparry Champion Author Florida Posts:9,555 Points:1,915,455 Joined:Jan 2008	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:44:05 AM Ignore rogerparry Report Abuse Great news.
TA33 Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:1,487 Points:321,040 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:43:58 AM Ignore TA33 Report Abuse What is the return on investment?
postcard9 All-Star Author Massachusetts Posts:883 Points:515,445 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Nov 10, 2012 7:43:25 AM Ignore postcard9 Report Abuse Return on ivestment is necessary.