Downtown Ann Arbor's largest solar panel installation starts at 350 S. Main St.
Cranes lift solar panels to the roof of 350 S. Main St. on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Harshe, MAV Development Co.
The crane parked Wednesday morning at the corner of South Main and William in downtown Ann Arbor launched a new wave of energy savings onto the roof of 350 S. Main St.
Solar panels were lifted to the roof of the four-story office and retail building as it becomes what a city energy consultant calls the first example of a large-scale commercial solar energy installation downtown.
The 20-kilowatt system is about 1,500 square feet, estimated Jeff Harshe, vice president of building owner MAV Development Co. of Ann Arbor.
That makes it about twice the size of the system installed at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market.
“It’s notable because of the size of the system,” said Dave Konkle, an energy consultant for the Downtown Development Authority and the city’s retired head of its energy office.
The panels will be used to generate electricity that power lights for the common areas of the building.
MAV decided to install the system for a variety of reasons, said Mike Genrich, the company’s vice president for property management.
The solar panels will be used to generate electricity that power lights for the common areas of the building.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Financing incentives helped, including grants from the DDA. So did the three-year payback on the net costs after those incentives.
Beyond that, it also fits MAV’s goal of “looking hard at buildings to improve energy efficiency,” Genrich said.
The solar panel installation followed a DDA-funded energy audit, which also will result some lighting and mechanical upgrades to reduce energy consumption.
The entire system cost MAV $140,000, Genrich said. With average monthly electrical costs for the common areas of the building - like hallways - running $6,815, the annual savings should be about $2,800 per year.
Tenants who pay their own electrical usage won’t see a reduction, but they’ll owe less for common-area maintenance charges, Harshe said.
Meanwhile, next for MAV is more evaluation of its Marketplace building at 303 Detroit St., where the company is considering a geothermal heating system.
As far as the solar panels at 350 S. Main St., the installation should be done by early September.
Eventually, Genrich hopes to set up an interactive display in the lobby so that tenants and visitors who don’t know what’s on the roof can recognize the impact of the solar panels.
Konkle said the city is generating about 20 percent of its power needs from renewable energy, as it aims toward meeting its goal of 30 percent.
Konkle said he hopes more businesses follow MAV’s direction. He’s working with several building owners who may end up choosing to go solar, he said.
“If they all come through, we’ll see an explosion of solar in Ann Arbor,” he said.
Comments
Stupid Hick
Tue, Aug 24, 2010 : 8:31 a.m.
I don't understand how Scott Hadley arrives at 50 years to recoup the money, nor do I understand how annarbor.com arrives at the estimated annual savings. If the panels cost $140,000 and the monthly electric bill is currently $6815, by my calculation the installation should pay for themselves in 20.5 months (140k/6.8k).
pragmatic
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 12:08 p.m.
Anything to reduce greenhouse gases and coal burning is a good thing.
5c0++ H4d13y
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 11:46 p.m.
Oh I'm sure the building will be there for 50+ years. The panels will stop working long before then. Complete waste of money.
Summit
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 12:18 p.m.
DTE has a program called solar currents and from description of the project it looks like the developer sized the system for the credits 20000 watts x 2.40 = 48,000.00 plus ongoing payments from DTE of about 2500.00 per yr plus you do not pay for the electric that you produce and use 1898 kwh x.08 = 151 per month x 12 = 1812.00 per yr and 30% tax credit of cost to install system 140,000.00 x 30% = 42,000.00 Total cost of system 140,000.00 Tax credit -42,000.00 Solar Currents credit-48,000.00 Subtotal 50,000.00 Yearly cost savings 4,312.00 payback 11.5 yrs DTE Solar Currents PDF http://dteenergy.com/pdfs/SC_brochure.pdf
Lokalisierung
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 11:23 a.m.
"How much will it cost to remove the snow from the panels in the winter?" Probably the same amount as removing the snow form the sidewalk in front of a business.
Epengar
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 11:17 a.m.
The story says $2800 per *year*, so presumably they are averaging costs over high production summer months and low production winter months.
salineone
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 10:48 a.m.
The solar panels only work when the sun is shining. What happens when we have days without the sun shining and the short days of winter with long periods of darkness. I doubt that the $2800 saving per month will be true in the winter. Please help me understand the cost savings. Maybe it is the warm feeling I get from knowing we are PC Green that will keep us warm that will add to the cost savings
Epengar
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 10:47 a.m.
I'd like to see some clarification of the calculations in this story. These statements don't make sense: "Financing incentives helped, including grants from the DDA. So did the three-year payback on the net costs after those incentives." "The entire system cost MAV $140,000, Genrich said. With average monthly electrical costs for the common areas of the building - like hallways - running $6,815, the annual savings should be about $2,800 per year." That last sentence is particularly bad, as it combines a monthly number with an annual one. Regarding snow removal, these panel are usually installed at an angle, and are dark and smooth, they quickly warm up an snow slides off of them. Their power generation is reduced by the snow, but not for long.
AAresident
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 9:37 a.m.
Does anyone know the amount of money the DDA gave for this project?
Buzz
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 9:32 a.m.
SO thats why they call it going "green"....as is the color of all the money that is being spent. Hey, how much energy is used to print all that grant (tax)money to go green? Now I do like the idea of geothermal though.
DLB78
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 9:20 a.m.
"...three-year payback on the net costs after incentives". With system cost $140,000 and payback $2,800 per year, that means total incentives were $131,600?? Can that be right? Who do I contact to get in on a deal like that?
5c0++ H4d13y
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 9:10 a.m.
I'm all for going green and geothermal seems to be a win win technology. My incomplete survey tells me that solar home or water heating pays for itself too. But solar electric generation is a good money after bad. As usual politically directed money is misspent on glamours projects that have low impact in the area we are told they are trying to help.
Greggy_D
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 8:28 a.m.
Your math is dead on Scott. The entire "Going Green" movement is a farce.
xmo
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 8:17 a.m.
"The entire system cost MAV $140,000,...the annual savings should be about $2,800 per year." So, this solar energy is really not efficient unless someone (taxpayers) gives the building management company a bundle of money. You can try to push this "saving the planet stuff" but it does not make cents!
boom
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 7:28 a.m.
I couldn't have said it better Huronbob.
SonnyDog09
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 6:37 a.m.
How much will it cost to remove the snow from the panels in the winter?
5c0++ H4d13y
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 6:13 a.m.
50 years to recoup the money spent? Is my math wrong? Will the panels last that long? Seems like the money would have been better spent on a different energy saving project.
bs
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 5:33 a.m.
Like I've always said, there's nothing like a picture of a generic cardboard box to visually communicate the content of a news article! :-)