fter decades of dormancy, the solar industry has reawakened
in the Philadelphia area, and shows significant signs of taking
off. In the first year of the Sustainable Development Fund's
(SDF) solar Photovoltaic Grant program 200 kilowatts of solar
PV capacity have been built or committed in the PECO service
area. This is more solar electricity than Pennsylvania has developed
in its entire history!
Since SDF increased its maximum solar PV grant from $8,000 to
$25,000, the rate of application to the program has increased
significantly. Grants can support PV systems for any customer
class: residential, commercial or industrial. Thus far two commercial
systems have been funded: the largest, a 75 kW system was installed
in April 2002 on the Ortho McNeill facility in Springhouse,
PA. The second, a 10 kW system is scheduled for installation
this spring on the City of Philadelphia's new Police Forensics
Science Center on 7th Street in Philadelphia.
The majority of the systems are residential, ranging in size
from 1.5 to 5 kW, and located in Chester, Montgomery, Bucks
and Philadelphia counties thus far. Schools, child care centers,
and affordable housing developments are also among the applicants.
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SDF is now in conversation with the region's housing developers about the possibility of incorporating solar PV into all of their new homes.
Another extremely exciting development is the commitment from Home Depot and Astropower to include the Philadelphia area in their solar PV program. This program has been operating in California for almost two years, and has been in Delaware and parts of New Jersey and New York for six months. Current plans are to roll this program out in April in the Philadelphia Home Depot stores. It will allow Home Depot customers to purchase Astropower solar PV systems with a full warranty on all aspects of the system, and financing from Home Depot.
"The pace of change is accelerating as more and more people
learn about the SDF solar grant program," states Liz Robinson,
Executive Director of the Energy Coordinating Agency. For more
information on solar energy check out: PMSR.
Photos provided by
Energy
Coordinating Agency.
Site sponsored by Refinery.
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