{"id":17579,"date":"2015-08-15T16:09:01","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T20:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/08\/solar-energy-conversion-a-popular-option-for-businesses-as-savings-become-evident.html"},"modified":"2015-08-15T16:09:01","modified_gmt":"2015-08-15T20:09:01","slug":"solar-energy-conversion-a-popular-option-for-businesses-as-savings-become-evident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/08\/solar-energy-conversion-a-popular-option-for-businesses-as-savings-become-evident\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Energy Conversion A Popular Option For Businesses As Savings Become Evident"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"apex\n<\/div>\n
Apex Solar Power in Queensbury does solar panel installations like this for homes and businesses in the region that results in cutting back on monthly utility bills.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY ANDREA PALMER<\/p>\n

Tax incentives for converting to solar energy are
\ncoming to an end, but the demand for clean energy
\ncontinues to grow.
\nFrank McCleneghen of Active Solar Development
\nin Galway, has seen commercial demand
\ngrow.<\/p>\n

“We’ve shifted away from doing only solar electric
\n[projects] as the incentives have decreased. We
\nhave seen the larger commercial business industry
\nbecome much more competitive and the margins
\ntighter than they were before,” said McCleneghen.<\/p>\n

In July, New York state announced that the
\ngrowth of solar power has increased more than 300
\npercent from 2011 to 2014, twice the rate of U.S.
\nsolar growth overall. The increase was attributed
\nto state initiatives to build a clean, resilient and
\naffordable energy systems.
\n“Solar is at a point today where it is both affordable
\nto own and lease,” said Ben Sopczyk,
\nmarketing director and project manager for Apex
\nSolar Power in Queensbury. “It offsets the known
\ncost of electricity associated with home or business
\nownership that has increased in price on average over the last 30 years. You save money every month
\nwith your system, and you increase the equity value
\nof your home or business.”<\/p>\n

He said the demand for solar power has grown
\nsteadily, especially in recent years.
\n“In the United States right now, a new solar
\nproject is being installed every 20 minutes,” said
\nSopczyk. “The growth has been huge.”<\/p>\n

He said two years ago, his staff was about 10
\ntotal employees in one office. “Today, we have
\nover 80 employees in three offices: Queensbury,
\nSyracuse, and New Windsor. While we have been
\nin business for much longer than that, the growth
\nhas been exponential in the past few years due to
\nthe current incentive levels and the drop in solar
\nequipment prices.”<\/p>\n

McCleneghan said Active Solar has found success
\nin strategic relationships.
\n“We have had really good success working with
\nproperty developers, installing solar hot water in
\ncommercial buildings. We’re working with Omni
\nDevelopment to install thermal hot water in a
\n12-story commercial building in Albany. We are doing their domestic hot water for a hundred units.<\/p>\n

The solar is picking up 50 percent of the load on
\nthat and cutting down on their fuel costs while
\ncapturing the tax incentives,” he said.
\nSopczyk said the conversion to solar energy was
\n“extremely simple”.<\/p>\n

“The only requirement is a place to put the
\nsolar system that receives sunlight 80 percent of
\nthe year,” he noted. “We take care of all permit,
\nincentive and utility applications. We can provide
\nfinancing as well. As far as the actual ‘conversion’
\ngoes, nothing changes in the {provision of service
\nto the} home or business,” he said.<\/p>\n

He said solar energy can be used year-round,
\ndespite long upstate winters.
\n“Solar produces electricity over the entire
\nyear. When the system is installed, the utility
\ncompany provides a new ‘net’ meter that tracks the
\nelectricity produced by the system, and what is used
\non the property. Extra energy credits are built up
\nin the summer to be used in the winter, so at the
\nend of 12 months, your system has produced all the electricity that you have used, and your annual
\nnet usage becomes 0 kilowatt hours. This offsets
\neverything on the bill that is calculated based on
\nthe usage. This means both the supply and delivery
\nare offset,” he said.<\/p>\n

Tax incentives from previous years for converting
\nto solar energy are decreasing and will soon
\nend altogether. But Sopczyk said the investment
\nis worth the up-front cost.<\/p>\n

“The average home recoups its costs in 4-8 years,
\nand a business can recoup in 4-6. And aside from
\nthe usage savings and easier planned monthly
\ncosts, businesses gain a 30 percent tax credit
\nbased on the system cost, and can depreciate the
\ncost of the system to additional tax savings,” said
\nSopczyk. “With these two incentives and the help
\nof NYSERDA incentives, up to 65 percent of the
\nsystem cost can be recouped with these tax and
\ndepreciation credits,”<\/p>\n

“The benefits are tangible, the incentives are
\nhelping and they will not be here for much longer,”
\nstated Sopczyk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apex Solar Power in Queensbury does solar panel installations like this for homes and businesses in the region that results in cutting back on monthly utility bills.BY ANDREA PALMER Tax incentives for converting to solar energy are coming to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,79,118],"class_list":["post-17579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-energy","tag-ny-state"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSolar Energy Conversion A Popular Option For Businesses As Savings Become Evident - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/08\/solar-energy-conversion-a-popular-option-for-businesses-as-savings-become-evident\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solar Energy Conversion A Popular Option For Businesses As Savings Become Evident - 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