NEW CASTLE - Lynn Dwyer does more than just raise plants in her greenhouse operation.She also cultivates the power of sunlight to make heat and electricity.
Dwyer's business is taking advantage of solar in a big way, even for a greenhouse. Last fall and winter, she put in more than $100,000 worth of solar energy systems at Dwyer Greens & Flowers, which is located on a former 160-acre homestead up a mile-long dirt road southwest of Apple Tree Park outside New Castle.
Rebates from Holy Cross Energy and Xcel Energy covered $45,000 of the cost. Put those together with tax credits, and 80 percent of Dwyer's initial investment will be reimbursed.
That doesn't take into account the savings in electric bills. Dwyer already has received a check from Holy Cross when the greenhouse generated more energy than it used. Her January electric bill was less than for the same month a year earlier, even though Dwyer had added a third greenhouse.
Dwyer has had a 56-panel, 9-kilowatt photovoltaic system installed to generate electricity, which is especially needed in the summer when fans and swamp coolers must be used in the greenhouses. In addition, a rooftop solar thermal system heats water that can provide radiant heat in a warehouse, warm plant roots or keep gutters de-iced... read more about this green green house
No comments:
Post a Comment