State helping nine facilities install solar energy systems
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The W.J. Beitler Co. in Esplen is one of nine recipients of state grants to install solar energy systems.
The 93-year-old trucking and warehouse company, which serves a five-state area, will receive $347,200 toward the $1.06 million cost of installing a 217.14-kilowatt system on the roof of its Stafford Street warehouse. The system is expected to generate more than 235,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, saving the company nearly $30,000 a year.
Quentin Beitler, president of the family-owned trucking business, said the company applied for the state grant in part to reduce its carbon impact. The property occupies 190,000 square feet and has an electric bill of about $80,000 a year. He said the state grant and a federal investment tax credit are subsidizing about half the cost. "It's going to wipe out about half our electrical needs over 25 years," he said, adding that the need for government subsidies will diminish "as electricity costs go up and solar energy costs go down."
The Beitler Co. is one of two recipients from Allegheny County. In North Fayette, the Plumbers Local Union No. 27 is receiving two grants of $25,300 for a 25.3-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic system and $5,000 for a rooftop solar thermal system on its training facility. Both systems will help the union cut its energy consumption by 28,812 kilowatt hours annually, which is more than the average home uses, according to the office of Gov. Ed Rendell.
The system will also be used to train apprentices in the installation of these systems. The total project cost for the solar photovoltaic system is $138,263. The solar thermal system cost is approximately $22,100.
Jamie Yates, spokeswoman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development, said that any exces s energy generated by these systems would be sold back to the electric-generating company. She said she did not know how the excess energy savings would be applied.
Of $650 million in state-allocated money for alternative energy proposals, $80 million went to solar energy projects. Applications were made to the state Department of Community and Economic Development and were chosen based on 11 factors, she said.
They include financial need, the project's feasibility, the energy savings generated, the amount of solar energy to be produced, the number and quality of jobs to be created or preserved, the project's readiness, and its adherence to sound uses of land and water.
"I am proud that the commonwealth is able to assist Pittsburgh-based businesses in becoming greener and more energy-efficient," said Rep. Chelsa Wagner, who announced the grants on Thursday.
The state's investment of $5.7 million in the nine grantees will save the recipients a half-million dollars each year, the governor's office reports.
The grants are funded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority's Solar Energy Program, which is jointly managed by the Department of Community and Economic Development and Department of Environmental Protection.
For more information on state alternative energy investment programs available through the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit www.newpa.com or call 1-866-466-3972.
First Published April 17, 2010 12:00 am
