Last week, contractors “were here doing the final prep work for the system panels to track the usage of the electricity,” said Kelly Eichelberger, Wepuko Pahnke office manager.” The electrician was here and they were getting the actual final inspection.
We are approved and up and running.”
The 50 kilowatt panels will provide energy for Wepuko Pahnke’s four buildings and remaining power will be sold back to their electric company, First Energy, or sold as energy through Ohio’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificates program.
Eichelberger said that Wepuko Pahnke could end up earning $21,542 on average a year from selling excess energy, based on a sales rate of 38 cents per kilowatt last week. The price of energy fluctuates daily, much like the stock market.
This project has been ongoing since 2010.
“We’ve been working on this project for about a year but we couldn’t finalize it because we didn’t get any more state grants,” Eichelberger said. “We got a federal grant instead.”
The grant, for $65,285, will be reimbursed to the company within 60 days of the final payment for the project.
The entire project, which cost $217,000, was conducted by Tipping Point Renewable Energy, based in Dublin, Ohio.
“Solar energy works today in Ohio, and Wepuko shows that a company can install solar energy and do it for economic reasons, has a good pay back,” said Eric Zimmer, executive director for Tipping Point. “They’re saving money, being green and helping provide jobs for unemployed vets.”
Tipping Point installed the solar array as part of their Solar for Soldiers program, where they train unemployed veterans – five veterans worked on the Wepuko Pahnke project – to install solar panels as a way to provide a career path for them, Zimmer said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0371 or emason@coxohio.com.
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