Jonathan Zou
10/29/2012
Annotation: Thomas, Unity colleges look to sun for power
Word Count: 545
1. Bangor, Alex B. "Thomas, Unity Colleges Look to Sun for Power." RenewablesBiz. N.p., 28 Oct.
2012. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/12/10/thomas-unitycolleges-look-sun-power>.
2. Two Maine colleges seek to maintain energy sustainability and in light of a dip in the cost of
installations have been adding solar power to their campuses. They’re the perfect installations
because they achieve the energy sustainability that the schools are seeking. In addition the
school is able to sell back the energy that they don’t use and put it back into the grid.
3. “‘It stabilizes their costs and makes it very predictable,’ he said…the solar system will save Unity
about 5 percent of the campus’ electricity cost, while Thomas will see an 11 percent savings on
its current load… After Thomas buys the system from ReVision, ‘Over the next 20 years, it will
save the college at least $500,000,’ said Rhoda” (Thomas, Unity).
“‘There’s no battery bank. Whatever energy is produced that isn’t used immediately is sent back
to the [Central Maine Power] grid,’ said Pyles. ‘Every kilowatt hour we generate, we get a credit
on our account.’”(Thomas, Unity).
4. First off, the electricity is sold by ReVision Energy to the schools for a couple of cents less than
what they usually pay for electricity. Second, the solar panels will be sold to the schools after a
few years for only a fourth of the original price. And finally, the system would pay for itself in
about four to five years, which means that after that the only costs needed to be made for
electricity would be that of maintenance.
And on top of that, the solar panels would be producing an extravagant amount of electricityPyles states that the 45,000 to 48,000 annual kilowatt hours at Unity would be able to power
the Library alone for 85% of the year. Energy that is extraneous that is generated from the solar
panels would be able to sold back to the grid, and the school would receive credit for it which
would save the school even more money. And because Maine is a state that gets so much
sunlight, the solar panels would be highly effective; there is a big perception that Maine doesn’t
receive any sunlight but that is simply not true because Maine receives a great deal of sunlight
which makes the selling back energy factor of solar panels highly favorable.
5. This article can inform our article because it helps explain to us how the buying back of the
power and the lowered initial energy costs working. It also goes to show just how long these
projects actually take and their relative time frames. And because this article is very recent it
also gives us an idea of how solar panels currently cost and what colleges are doing about
energy sustainability in late 2012.
6. This article can support our project because first off it supports the notion that our project is
possible and that there are schools today that are putting in solar panels, particularly in the
Northeast. It also supports our article because it informs us that the partnerships between the
colleges and the companies that are making and installing the solar panels aren’t selfish and that
they exist for the mutual benefit of each other.