From the North Florida Herald

By Emily Fuggetta |

John Lanman is bidding high electric bills farewell, and his solution is the size of an airplane wing.

In December, Lanman, 70, installed High Springs' first photovoltaic system - a set of solar panels that absorb sunlight for conversion into usable energy - to the left of his house on Northwest 195th Drive.

The idea, he said, took root early last fall when he began to consider how vulnerable he and his wife would be in the event of a terrorist attack or other disaster that would affect electricity.

"I have relatively low risk tolerance," Lanman said. "Our water is pumped from a well. I got to thinking, ‘Gee, if I didn't have grid power, I wouldn't be able to pump water at a minimum."

He began researching a way around the potential predicament and settled on a solar system that not only could make him less dependent on his energy provider, Clay Electric, but also save him thousands on his energy bills.

The array, a hulking 13-by-65-foot monster on steel framework that holds it just a few feet off the ground, sends energy underground to a pair of Sunny Boy inverters mounted on Lanman's shed, then to a meter and a breaker at the house.

At the net meter, the energy influx is symbolized by racing lines that move either left or right depending on whether the house is getting its energy from the sun or from Clay Electric.

Solar systems drastically reduce their owners' carbon footprints, or the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced by burning fossil fuels. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average couple produces about four tons of CO2 per year in household emissions; according to the reading on the Lanmans' Sunny Boy inverters, in just the first two weeks since the installation, they've made up for about 900 pounds of CO2.

Kurt Johnsen, the Gainesville-area solar and building contractor who installed the Lanmans' system, said interest in photovoltaic systems has increased exponentially in recent years.

He said anyone interested in installing a system should first make sure to make his home as efficient as possible by changing old light bulbs and adding insulation, for example.

"It sounds funny being a solar contractor advising people to do other things first," he said. "But that's what you should do."

Once Lanman finished researching the system, planning and readying his property, the installation only took a couple of weeks, he said.

Because Lanman's roof doesn't face south, he had to build a ground-mounted system as opposed to a roof-mounted system, adding to the cost of the project, which totaled about $68,000.

But much, if not all, of the cost of photovoltaic systems is recovered over time.

Sherman Phillips, energy services manager for Clay Electric, said the average customer who installs a photovoltaic system saves about $1,000 per year on his electric bill.

But Lanman, whose array has about twice the capacity of an average system, estimates his savings will be about $2,400 per year.

Soon, those savings will increase - Lanman plans to add 24 panels to the existing 48. Now, solar power accounts for about 65 percent of the Lanmans' needs. The final system, he estimates, will cover 95 to 100 percent.

In addition to the monthly savings, the government offers a 30-percent tax credit on investments like solar arrays, and until last summer, the State of Florida offered a $4 per watt rebate on installation.

Like Johnsen, Phillips said solar technology like the Lanmans' has gained popularity in recent years. The first photovoltaic system in Clay Electric's 14-county coverage area was installed in 2007, and they've been popping up steadily ever since.

Now, out of about 168,000 Clay Electric customers, Phillips said 67 of them use solar technology.

While the percentage may be small, he believes installations of photovoltaic systems will increase when costs go down. Ultimately, he said, for those who can afford it, the systems are a good investment.

"Some people will be around when they recover the cost, and others won't, but their children and grandchildren will," he said. "Is it the right thing to do? Yes, it is."