Here comes the sun
Solar panels stay experimental
Chandler Harris, Student Reporter
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Energy Special
In the late 1990s, Hunter Berry ('99) studied international business and had his eyes opened to renewable energy resources like never before. He moved to New Mexico where he lived in an earth ship, or a house made completely out of tires and dirt. Earth ships are completely independent of all utilities. Berry referred to his earth ship as "the most efficient, self-sustaining building," that he knows of. His experiences in his earth ship led him to the career he has today: working for Meridian Energy Systems. Meridian is the leading design and installation firm with regards to solar energy panels.
Solar energy is a viable, abundant resource that few Abilenians are utilizing. While expensive initially, over time, solar panels can pay for themselves in energy bill savings.
Solar energy is defined as energy derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation. In other words, solar panels give us the ability to produce energy directly from sunlight and nothing else. This has the potential to be an amazing resource in the future.
Abilene Independent School District has been taking advantage of the benefits of solar panels for the past 20 years. They are part of a program called "Watts on Schools," which installs solar panels at school locations across the nation in order to educate students, collect data and produce energy simultaneously.
Alan Caffey is a planetarium teacher at Abilene High School, where the solar panels are located.
"The panels we have here are for experimentation purposes," Caffey said. "They put out 4.56 kilowatts per hour maximum. On a good summer day, we can get 10-12 hours of quality output from them."
Caffey said the panels are tied into the local power grid. The energy produced by the panels goes onto that grid, and the power company pays AISD the wholesale rate for it. Also, the school gets district funding for having the panels on their property.
"There is a Web site, www.soltrex.com, where anyone can log on and track exactly how much energy our panels have put out over time," Caffey said. "As of November, they have produced more than 54,000 kilowatts of energy in the past eight years. The Web site collects this data and tells you how much of our natural resources have been spared with regards to our output."
Now, the panels have produced enough output to save 115 trees and to power a cell phone in talk mode for more than 3 billion minutes.
The panels are also used to teach sixth graders about light and how it produces energy. The 16 panels are about four feet by five feet in size and are located on the south side of the Abilene High School Planetarium.
Some may wonder why Abilene High School has solar panels and not ACU. But the university does, in fact, have solar panels. The only problem is, they aren't producing energy, or even located in the path of sunlight for that matter. Today, they are sitting in storage at the Rhoden Farm collecting dust. At one point, they were being put to good use on the now-demolished industrial technology building, which was located just north of Moody Coliseum.
Dr. Jim Cooke, professor of agricultural and environmental sciences, has been trying to have these panels installed at the Rhoden Farm. Cooke said the Abilene area is a great area for solar panels with regards to sunlight, but that the economics of the operation have to be reduced significantly before it becomes realistic for residents with panels to save money. Cooke said that wind energy is a more viable option right now.
"West Texas is in a wind boom," Cooke said. "The cost difference between wind and fossil fuels is much closer than the difference between solar and fossil fuels."
Hunter Berry, of Meridian Energy Systems, said the government is giving out subsidies to try to reduce that price gap and make it possible for more and more citizens to obtain solar panels.
"Right now, you can get up to $2,000 back in tax reductions from the government by installing solar panels," Berry said. "Commercial businesses can receive up to $100,000 for installation from the government and a tax rebate in the form of 30 percent of the cost of the solar panel system."
Berry said that after installing the panels, it would take about four years to recoup the fossil fuels and natural resources it took to install them.
Although earth ships may not be on the horizon for everyone, solar energy continues to be a hailed as a valuable source of energy.
E-mail Harris at: optimist@acu.edu
Solar energy is a viable, abundant resource that few Abilenians are utilizing. While expensive initially, over time, solar panels can pay for themselves in energy bill savings.
Solar energy is defined as energy derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation. In other words, solar panels give us the ability to produce energy directly from sunlight and nothing else. This has the potential to be an amazing resource in the future.
Abilene Independent School District has been taking advantage of the benefits of solar panels for the past 20 years. They are part of a program called "Watts on Schools," which installs solar panels at school locations across the nation in order to educate students, collect data and produce energy simultaneously.
Alan Caffey is a planetarium teacher at Abilene High School, where the solar panels are located.
"The panels we have here are for experimentation purposes," Caffey said. "They put out 4.56 kilowatts per hour maximum. On a good summer day, we can get 10-12 hours of quality output from them."
Caffey said the panels are tied into the local power grid. The energy produced by the panels goes onto that grid, and the power company pays AISD the wholesale rate for it. Also, the school gets district funding for having the panels on their property.
"There is a Web site, www.soltrex.com, where anyone can log on and track exactly how much energy our panels have put out over time," Caffey said. "As of November, they have produced more than 54,000 kilowatts of energy in the past eight years. The Web site collects this data and tells you how much of our natural resources have been spared with regards to our output."
Now, the panels have produced enough output to save 115 trees and to power a cell phone in talk mode for more than 3 billion minutes.
The panels are also used to teach sixth graders about light and how it produces energy. The 16 panels are about four feet by five feet in size and are located on the south side of the Abilene High School Planetarium.
Some may wonder why Abilene High School has solar panels and not ACU. But the university does, in fact, have solar panels. The only problem is, they aren't producing energy, or even located in the path of sunlight for that matter. Today, they are sitting in storage at the Rhoden Farm collecting dust. At one point, they were being put to good use on the now-demolished industrial technology building, which was located just north of Moody Coliseum.
Dr. Jim Cooke, professor of agricultural and environmental sciences, has been trying to have these panels installed at the Rhoden Farm. Cooke said the Abilene area is a great area for solar panels with regards to sunlight, but that the economics of the operation have to be reduced significantly before it becomes realistic for residents with panels to save money. Cooke said that wind energy is a more viable option right now.
"West Texas is in a wind boom," Cooke said. "The cost difference between wind and fossil fuels is much closer than the difference between solar and fossil fuels."
Hunter Berry, of Meridian Energy Systems, said the government is giving out subsidies to try to reduce that price gap and make it possible for more and more citizens to obtain solar panels.
"Right now, you can get up to $2,000 back in tax reductions from the government by installing solar panels," Berry said. "Commercial businesses can receive up to $100,000 for installation from the government and a tax rebate in the form of 30 percent of the cost of the solar panel system."
Berry said that after installing the panels, it would take about four years to recoup the fossil fuels and natural resources it took to install them.
Although earth ships may not be on the horizon for everyone, solar energy continues to be a hailed as a valuable source of energy.
E-mail Harris at: optimist@acu.edu
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