'Going green': Solar panels installed on roof of town's community center

WOODFORD - Woodford officials are doing their part to help the environment and conserve money at the same time.

Mayor Charles Stoudemire says the town has installed energy- and cost-saving solar panels to the roof of its community center, added more insulation to its buildings and upgraded to energy-efficient air conditioning and heating units.

Jeffery Derwort, Lower Savannah Council of Governments community development planner, helped the town apply for a federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant of approximately $45,000 to make all of the improvements, the mayor said.

"Step one of our 'going green' campaign was to install solar panels on the community center," Stoudemire said.

"The solar panels were installed on the roof of the community center where they would remain safe and sit, quietly doing their job," he said. "Even with thousands of visitors here for the Hummingbird Festival, I am not sure that anyone even noticed them."

The mayor said while the initial cost for the panels was a big investment, they will pay for themselves in 20 years and carry a life expectancy of more than 50 years.

"There are no moving parts, nothing to wear out and the panels will provide service as long as the sun shines," Stoudemire said.

He said the town has seen a benefit from the panels since they were installed three months ago, adding that he hopes more towns will start looking at renewable energy sources.

"We don't need any more radiation like they have in Japan right now. We don't need more pollution which comes from coal plants," Stoudemire said. "We need to start looking at ways that we can be clean and efficient."

The solar panels were installed by Sunstore Solar Energy Solutions of Greenville, he said. The panels convert sunlight into energy for the community center, Stoudemire said, noting, "Any unused power is sold back to SCE&G."

Stoudemire said town officials are happy with the savings and look forward to future improvements in solar technology. As more people use solar panels, the price will come down, he noted.

"The price of the solar panels went down just during our grant process," he said.

The mayor said with the savings Woodford has realized, there was enough money left over to purchase 22 additional solar panels, which will be installed soon.

"So we are benefiting from the price coming down already and doubling the amount of energy we will be able to produce," Stoudemire said.

While the town still has to purchase electricity from SCE&G, the panels have reduced Woodford's utility bill, he said.

Woodford Town Council members have been big supporters of the solar panels, the mayor said.

"Anything to save money, and since the money was there, we went for it," Stoudemire said.

The town has even converted its Christmas decorations to energy-efficient LED bulbs.

"One of the big expenses for a town is streetlights and other electricity that we use, and if we can cut that, then we can cut down our operating costs," Stoudemire said.

"We can use the money we save for other improvements in the town that we need."