Blakey Hall Continues to Invest in Solar

Blakey Hall's 50 kW solar PV system

Last year NC Solar Now installed a 50kW solar PV system on Blakey Hall Assisted Living Community's rooftop located in Elon. Constructed in two phases, the array consists of 196 panels, serving all 56 residential units within the building. Last year, John Ketcham, owner of Blakey Hall, said that the government incentives made the investment a reality, claiming that the incentives were powerful enough to "cause a business guy to take action" (The Times News). Ketcham acted fast and signed the contract for his installation before Jan. 1, 2012 while section 1603 of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was still in effect, which provides capital for homes or businesses that have renewable energy generation projects. With the additional help from state and federal tax credits, the $250,000 solar PV project will recover 91% of its upfront cost, said Greg Olenar, Co-President of NC Solar Now. Additionally, the return on investment will be about 4 years, and with the 25 year warranty and the 35-40 year life expectancy of the panels, that seems very timely. The community will also receive a credit from Duke Energy Progress for the electricity generated that is not used, a process called net metering. Sounds like a great investment if you ask me! The community went a step further and had NC Solar Now install a solar thermal system on their rooftop to heat water for the kitchen, laundry room, and special care unit. Olenar said the system will save the community $6,000-$7,000 per year.

Satisfied with his investment, Ketcham decided to invest once again. NC Solar Now is currently working on a solar thermal system for two other buildings in the Blakey Hall Community, one of which was completed last week. Ketcham encourages other businesses to take advantage of the federal and state tax credits and grants. The credits make solar affordable for almost every business and homeowner and they should be taken advantage of to continue to increase the use of solar throughout the state!

Blakey Hall's new solar thermal system