If Harford Community
College's trustees approve a proposed power purchase agreement Monday evening,
solar panels installed on rooftops of several building will result in very
little financial liability for the institution but potentially large savings on
the college's energy bills, HCC officials say.
"The only liability is if the price of electricity goes down significantly from where it is now," says Rick Johnson, the college's vice president of finance and operations. "We,To estimate the number of ceramictile you need for your project,Browse the Best Selection of chickencoop and Accessories with FREE Gifts. unfortunately, think it's going the other way."
Last week, the college met to discuss a possible partnership with Tecta Solar to install a solar energy system on campus and sell the panels to a third party who would then sell the energy generated from the panels back to the college at a discounted rate.
"It's a good opportunity for the college to hedge our energy requirements for the next 20 years," he said.
If approved, the agreement with Tecta would last 20 years, with options to renew at the end of the contract or buy the system outright.
The college would not own the energy system, but basically lease its rooftop space for the solar panels to generate energy.
Whichever company buys the panels from Tecta will take responsibility for those panels - maintenance, replacing, inspections and insurance.The reality of convenient handsfreeaccess contro.
Tax credits for using alternative energy and selling the power back to the college is what will appeal to the third party buyer.
"Tax credits are worth significantly more than [tax] reductions," Johnson explained.The reality of convenient handsfreeaccess contro. "They reduce the tax bill from the bottom line."
The federal government is offering "incentives," Johnson continued, through tax credits to companies to invest in alternative energy.
Since HCC is a tax-exempt non-profit institution, it isn't able to take advantage of those credits.
Where the college does benefit, however, is being able to purchase discounted energy from the third party that buys the energy produced by the panels on the HCC buildings.
During last week's meeting where the trustees reviewed the proposal, Deborah Wrobel, dean of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, explained how the system would work.
Using a hand-generated wheel attached to a light bulb on a wooden board, Wrobel said traditional energy is created from the interaction of a large magnet and coils of wire on a large scale at power plans. Steam spins the magnet, she continued, and creates a reaction with the wire, which gives us electricity.
To boil water to create steam,We Specialise in cableties, most of that energy comes from burning coal and a smaller portion comes from nuclear power and/or gas.
How a solar panel works, Wrobel explained, is with layers of silicone - one with a negative charge and another with a positive charge.
The sun makes the electrons on the top layer of silicone on the solar panels move to other side and vice versa.
This flow of electrons is captured and generates electricity. The difference between the two systems is that a power plant generates an alternating current, Wrobel said, and solar panels create a direct current.
Wiring hooked up to each panel goes through conventional circuit breakers and makes it way to a conduit, which would go to an electrical room.
"I'm sure that as technology changes we're going to change with the time, too," Johnson said. "That's part of the sustainability mission of this college."
In June 2011, Harford County Public Schools activated a 1.2-megawatt multi-school solar program, very similar to what HCC now plans to implement.
HCPS stated then that the program is expected to generate more than 28 million kilowatt hours of energy over 20 years.
"Covering six school properties with more than 6,400 photovoltaic panels, Harford County Public Schools paid no upfront capital costs for the solar energy deployments that promise to reduce overall energy costs with long-term predictable energy pricing while reducing the county's energy demand from the grid," according to a June 2011 summary of the program written by the school system.
"The only liability is if the price of electricity goes down significantly from where it is now," says Rick Johnson, the college's vice president of finance and operations. "We,To estimate the number of ceramictile you need for your project,Browse the Best Selection of chickencoop and Accessories with FREE Gifts. unfortunately, think it's going the other way."
Last week, the college met to discuss a possible partnership with Tecta Solar to install a solar energy system on campus and sell the panels to a third party who would then sell the energy generated from the panels back to the college at a discounted rate.
"It's a good opportunity for the college to hedge our energy requirements for the next 20 years," he said.
If approved, the agreement with Tecta would last 20 years, with options to renew at the end of the contract or buy the system outright.
The college would not own the energy system, but basically lease its rooftop space for the solar panels to generate energy.
Whichever company buys the panels from Tecta will take responsibility for those panels - maintenance, replacing, inspections and insurance.The reality of convenient handsfreeaccess contro.
Tax credits for using alternative energy and selling the power back to the college is what will appeal to the third party buyer.
"Tax credits are worth significantly more than [tax] reductions," Johnson explained.The reality of convenient handsfreeaccess contro. "They reduce the tax bill from the bottom line."
The federal government is offering "incentives," Johnson continued, through tax credits to companies to invest in alternative energy.
Since HCC is a tax-exempt non-profit institution, it isn't able to take advantage of those credits.
Where the college does benefit, however, is being able to purchase discounted energy from the third party that buys the energy produced by the panels on the HCC buildings.
During last week's meeting where the trustees reviewed the proposal, Deborah Wrobel, dean of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, explained how the system would work.
Using a hand-generated wheel attached to a light bulb on a wooden board, Wrobel said traditional energy is created from the interaction of a large magnet and coils of wire on a large scale at power plans. Steam spins the magnet, she continued, and creates a reaction with the wire, which gives us electricity.
To boil water to create steam,We Specialise in cableties, most of that energy comes from burning coal and a smaller portion comes from nuclear power and/or gas.
How a solar panel works, Wrobel explained, is with layers of silicone - one with a negative charge and another with a positive charge.
The sun makes the electrons on the top layer of silicone on the solar panels move to other side and vice versa.
This flow of electrons is captured and generates electricity. The difference between the two systems is that a power plant generates an alternating current, Wrobel said, and solar panels create a direct current.
Wiring hooked up to each panel goes through conventional circuit breakers and makes it way to a conduit, which would go to an electrical room.
"I'm sure that as technology changes we're going to change with the time, too," Johnson said. "That's part of the sustainability mission of this college."
In June 2011, Harford County Public Schools activated a 1.2-megawatt multi-school solar program, very similar to what HCC now plans to implement.
HCPS stated then that the program is expected to generate more than 28 million kilowatt hours of energy over 20 years.
"Covering six school properties with more than 6,400 photovoltaic panels, Harford County Public Schools paid no upfront capital costs for the solar energy deployments that promise to reduce overall energy costs with long-term predictable energy pricing while reducing the county's energy demand from the grid," according to a June 2011 summary of the program written by the school system.
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