Its all about the numbers.
Taking advantage of the Commonwealth Solar Energy Program, a local self storage and moving company will soon install solar paneling to its River Street business.
Storage Plus owner Conrad Watson said installation should cost close to $45,000, but will save him close to $5,000 a year in energy costs.
The Weston resident said his company will not foot the entire bill. Storage Plus received a $19,240 state rebate for installing the paneling through a program offered by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust.
The rebate is part of Gov. Deval Patrick's recent streamlining of the state's solar energy program, Watson said. The program allows an easy process and hefty rebate for installing solar paneling.
"There was a lot of red tape involved when we first looked into (solar paneling)." Watson said. "There was all sorts of difficulties and complexities that (the governor) has removed."
The panels will generate 6,900 watts of power an hour.
James Christo, who heads the Energy Trust's "green" building program, says the four-year solar program offers $68 million in rebates.
"The goal is to have installed 27 megawatts of photovoltaic solar arrays, a solar electric system," he said. "They are panels, that are typically placed on buildings or homes, that take sunlight and convert that sunlight into electricity."
Christo said the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust is one of the sources that funds the program.
Watson said he expects to have the solar paneling system installed on his building by the end of May.
Adding solar panels is just one way the 23-year-old business is using green technologies to cut costs and preserve the planet. Watson says the company recently purchased its third Toyota Prius Hybrid.
With more than 3,000 deliveries and retrievals a year, Watson said he expects to eliminate 10,000 pounds of hydrocarbons from the atmosphere.
Watson's brother and business partner Walter, a Belmont resident, said he feels it's important for Storage Plus to be moving towards environmentally friendly efforts.
"I think it just sets an example for anyone that's thinking about it or has any intentions to save the environment," he said. "Anything to cut down on the burning of coals."
As the company moves forward with its green thinking, Watson admits there were other motivations in the Earth-friendly changes.
"It's mainly for economic reasons and family pressure from my kids. My daughter's an activist," he said.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
