By Arthur Foulkes
TERRE HAUTE — A pair of Terre Haute North Vigo High School graduates are trying to shine a light on solar energy in the Wabash Valley.
Phillip Roberts, a 1991 North grad, officially opened One Planet Solar Inc.’s Terre Haute office Friday. His brother, Matt Roberts, a 1989 North grad, founded the company in Louisiana in 2005. The Terre Haute operation is the first franchise location for the business.
“We’re bringing solar to Terre Haute,” Matt Roberts said Friday morning during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at One Planet Solar at 2350 Wabash Ave. “This should be big for Terre Haute.”
For now, the business employs four full-time workers in Terre Haute, said Phillip Roberts, who is vice president of the company and will operate the business here with his wife, Betsy. The company already has more than a dozen potential customers lined up, he said.
A 3-kilowatt home solar energy system, which would provide between 30 and 40 percent of a typical home’s energy, would cost around $25,000, Matt Roberts said. The net cost of the system, however, would be $17,500 thanks to federal tax credits for homeowners and a federal grant for businesses, he noted.
Home solar energy systems also are exempt from property tax assessments in Indiana, Matt Roberts noted.
In addition to lowering monthly bills from retail electric companies, solar or wind energy systems help the environment, Phillip Roberts noted. “Americans understand there needs to be some restructuring done,” he said. “There is an issue with global warming. … We feel it’s everyone’s personal right to get involved.”
A typical home requires between 300-500 square feet of solar panels for a solar electric system, the company’s Web site states.
A 3-kilowatt home solar system in this part of the country would create between 300 and 500 kilowatt hours per month, Matt Roberts said. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, average residential electricity consumption in 2007 in America was 936 kwh per month.
Solar energy technology has changed a lot in the past two years, Phillip Roberts said. “You can even create energy from a full moon,” he said.
More than a dozen individuals and businesses already have contacted One Planet Solar seeking proposals, Phillip Roberts noted. He is asking people to wait while the company sorts through the new federal economic stimulus package to see what “green energy” incentives are included. Several green incentives already identified in the stimulus bill will bring important savings to consumers, he noted. “Now we have viability,” he said. “The Wabash Valley has been very supportive … The interest is there.”
For more information on One Planet Solar based in Terre Haute, see the company’s Web site at www.oneplanetsolar.net. The company headquarters Web site is www.oneplanetsolar.com.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
