VIRGINIA IS FOR SOLAR

Group focuses on solar energy resources
Susan Elzey, March 10, 2009 (Register and Bee via GoDanRiver)

"Members of OPEC Not! learned about “green roofs” Monday night, but no one is going to be rushing out to buy solar panels…Fred Wydner, agricultural development director for Pittsylvania County, addressed the pros and cons of harvesting the sun through solar panels during the presentation…but the conclusion was that the “green roofs” are still too expensive…

"Wydner…predicted that by 2012 to 2015, prices will come down and be more feasible for homeowners to use…Solar energy has a long history, he noted. The first solar technology was developed in the seventh century B.C. and the first solar collector built in 1767 by Horace de Saussure in Switzerland. The first commercial solar water heater was built by Clarence Kemp in Baltimore in 1891."

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"There is a long list of pros for the use of solar energy, Wydner said…On the con side, Wydner said there is a concern about the “miniscule” amount of cadmium that can leach into landfills and the problem of “insolation,” or the relatively low concentration of solar energy available per unit area as the energy arrives from the sun.

"According to Wydner’s calculations on the Sun Power Web site, it would cost a homeowner with an 1,800-square-foot home in the Danville area $38,000 to install a solar paneling system on a roof. A tax credit of $11,400 would bring the net cost down to $26,600…The solar energy would reduce the home’s electricity bill by 25 percent to $105.01 per month. Financing the system for 25 years would add about $115 to the monthly bill…"