An East State Street bakery will become the eighth building to house solar panels in the Athens area within the past two years.
Village Bakery, 268 E. State St., began installing the panels more than a week ago. The panels are now working toward energy efficiency for the bakery.
Co-owners Bob O'Neil and Christine Hughes said they wanted to install solar panels when they bought the bakery in 2002, but at the time solar power was too expensive.
It has been an inspiration since Jimmy Carter
when he put panels on the White House O'Neil said.
The installation cost a total of $70,000, but the bakery only spent $21,000 on the project after a state grant and federal tax credit, O'Neil said.
The Ohio Department of Development's Advanced Energy Fund covers $3.50 for every watt of power put out, said Michelle Greenfield, chief executive officer of Third Sun Solar Power, the company that installed the bakery's panels. The bakery produces 10,000 watts of power, so its owners were granted $35,000, she added.
The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit was another source of funding for the bakery, which covered the remaining cost, Greenfield said.
New funding for alternative energy has become available since legislation was passed in 2008 mandating that at least 25 percent of all electricity sold in the state must come from alternative energy resources by 2025, according to the Pew Center for Global Climate Change website.
The bakery's personal investment should pay for itself in five to 10 years, O'Neil said, adding the panels will account for 13 percent of the bakery's energy.
The increase in local businesses adding solar panels for energy efficiency is a great way to jump-start the local economy, said Athens City Councilman Elahu Gosney, D-at Large.
The local economy here is in pretty bad shape Gosney said. This is the brightest part of the economy. I think it's clear that this is the direction we need to be moving
and fast.
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Christopher Brown
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Jack Hadley (front) and Michael Pleasant, both from Athens, finish installing solar panels Sept. 20 on the roof of the Village Bakery and Caf
