Those interested in "going green" will have the chance to earn $2,000 toward installing solar panels in their homes.
The Solarize Madison County Initiative will hold a panel discussion about the initiative on Monday at the Cazenovia Public Library. On the panel will be Cazenovia farmer Jim Golub.
Grants and incentives offered at the state and federal level helped pay the $70,000 price tag for installing 45 solar panels on the roof of Golub’s barn. To help foot the bill, he received federal grant money, New York State tax credits and a grant from NYSERDA.
Golub was able to get grant funding for the bulk of his project, leaving only $12,000 out of pocket. With that now paid off, his energy bills are lower. He says he still receives some power from National Grid on days when there is not much sun, but his energy bills are nowhere near what they once were.
At times, Golub was paying National Grid upwards of $175 a month for electric at his Peth Road farm.
“I wanted something that would pay for itself eventually,” he said.
His 45 panels, installed last summer, generate 10 kilowatts of power every year, which he says is enough to power his 3,500 square foot house and a barn.
The panels can be adjusted to coincide with the changing path the sun takes across the sky during the changing seasons.
“It takes care of all of our needs at the farm,” he said on Friday.
In addition to the panels on the roof of his barn, Golub also has another panel on the roof of his house that generates an almost unlimited supply of hot water, he said.
Source:http://oneidadispatch.com/articles/2012/06/18/news/doc4fdbcc2d64878054797214.txt
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