McComb Gardens debuts grid-tied solar electric system this Earth Day. McComb Gardens proudly displays its commitment to environmental sustainability on the roof of its storefront. This spring the nursery threw the switch on a 4.23-kW grid-tied solar electric power system and now 70 percent of the business is powered by the sun, as reflected by reduced electric bills.
"Our plants grow from the sun – we should get our electricity from the sun, too!" says co-owner Jane Stewart, CPH, who along with her husband Neil Burkhardt, CPH has operated McComb Gardens since 1998.
This solar electric (aka photovoltaic, or PV) power system makes its public debut at the upcoming 2010 Sequim Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 17. The nursery will be open from 9am – 6pm, offering tours of the new solar array and highlighting eco-friendly native and ornamental plants that are disease resistant, wildlife friendly and chemical free.
Stewart and Burkhardt were inspired to go solar by a recent article in Garden Center Magazine about Lakeview Nurseries in Lunenberg, MA, which installed a 7.3-kW PV array and just made Today’s Garden Center’s "Revolutionary 100" list for 2010.
Stewart emailed Richard Bursch, the owner of Lakeview Nurseries, to get cost figures and information on how the system worked. Bursch indicated that installation of the solar array also helped their business. ‘The publicity
was priceless," he wrote Stewart. "Our competition was down almost 50% for 2009 and we were up."
The solar system is estimated to offset about 70% of the annual electric bill for the nursery and Stewart and Burkhardt’s home, which shares electrical service with the nursery. Modern PV arrays require no batteries and are expected to operate virtually maintenance free for 30 or more years.
After the loan, the tax credits, and the PUD rebate are calculated, the first-year out-of-pocket cost for the $30,000 system is about $3600. ‘That’s less than a used car," marvels Burkhardt. ‘This is priority for us – we’ve just got to do it."
Stewart adds, "Our goal is to inspire others to go solar – and for like-minded customers to buy their plants from us because we did."
