Jan 30 2011
Microdyne Plastics, a Colton company is going solar with installation of new solar panels at its manufacturing plant, which would reduce energy expenses by almost one third i.e. from the annual $500,000 to $175,000.
According to Ron Brown, Chief Executive of Microdyne, this initiative would generate 35% of the company’s energy requirements. A total of 260 PV modules were installed on the top of the company’s plant, which has a dimension of 90,000 Sq feet. The total installation costs amounted to $4.7 million. Brown anticipates that the company would gain those savings in a period of six years when the option of purchasing the solar equipment would be offered to the company. Currently, the company is leasing the solar equipment from SolarMax Technology. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or the stimulus program provided almost 30% of the funding for the project. 50% of the funding was provided by the Colton City’s surplus power buyback program and the rest was incorporated into the SolarMax lease contract. According to Brown, this initiative was a cost-neutral proposition with the government aid.
Microdyne, established in 1975, shifted base to Colton in 2007 and manufactures small components made out of plastic for plastic containers, electronics and medical supplies. According to Guillermo Santomauro, the sales director, the panels are to be installed on the roof of the facility where the molding machines are housed and would represent their biggest project to date on the West Coast. He further mentioned that it was essential that government aid should be given for the solar industry through programs such as the stimulus act. According to him, even industries such as steel, agriculture and oil have always received subsidies and even now are receiving them. He felt that solar projects of such magnitude should really be endorsed by the nation’s political base.
On the day when Microdyne inaugurated its solar panel installation a new report was released on the condition and status of California’s green industry by Next 10, a San Francisco- based group. This report revealed that in the state in the year 2009, 174,000 jobs were based on green industries such as alternative fuels, non-carbon- based energy generation and recycling. In 1995, the core green economy jobs accounted for only 111,000 and hence there was a huge increase. Out of the total number of jobs, the Riverside and the San Bernardino counties accounted for 4,400 jobs. According to F. Noel Perry, the founder of Next 10, currently the largest source of green jobs in the region were the waste and recycling sectors but there was a lot of potential for investments in clean fuel production, solar and wind energy installations in both the counties.
Source: http://microdyneplastics.com/