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Solar Source Installs Solar Water Heaters for City of St. Petersburg; Projected to Save $20,000 Annu |
ARRA funds put local company to work installing 21 solar water heaters for municipal buildings in St. Petersburg.
Largo, FL (PRWEB) May 01, 2012
Solar Source recently installed 21 active solar hot water systems at various municipal buildings for the City of St. Petersburg. An Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 paid for the systems. The solar water heaters are expected to help the city save over $20,000 per year on operating expenses through reduced electricity bills. Full Story...
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Sunshine City: Solar biz heats up St. Pete |
Tampa Bay Business Journal by Jane Meinhardt, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, April 13, 2012, 6:00am EDT
 Solar Source VP Rick Gilbert with company President Wayne Wallace. Photo by Kathleen Cabble.
ST. PETERSBURG - A consortium of German and Austrian solar energy businesses eyeing the city as a site for equipment manufacturing and a solar farm also are contemplating partnering with businesses that own multiple rooftops.
Depending on final decisions, the consortium would provide multiple new business opportunities for contractors, vendors, installers and other businesses related to solar energy.
The group toured St. Petersburg last summer as part of its due diligence in determining whether the city and Pinellas County are potentially lucrative locations for its technology and plants.
“They’re looking to come back in the not too distant future to ...Full Story
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Clearwater's Habitat for Humanity homes harness solar energy to heat water |
By Theodora Aggeles, Times Correspondent
In Print: Wednesday, April 11, 2012
CLEARWATER — Anyone who remembers Homer Villas, a public housing complex off N Betty Lane, wouldn't recognize the area now. It's now the Stevens Creek subdivision, a neighborhood of colorful single-family Habitat for Humanity homes.
Now those homes are starting to harness the energy of the sun.
"Progress Energy donated 15 solar water heating units for our affordable housing," said Steven Lightburn, vice president of development for Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County. "To have this kind of resource available is unbelievable."
TECO Energy Inc. also donated four units, two of which have been installed in Habitat houses in Oldsmar.
"With the way we build, the typical electric bill costs $100 to $150 a month," Lightburn said. "With solar water heating, instantly take some off and you're looking at going from struggling to people using that money to nurture the family."
A total of 51 houses will be built on the 10-acre site of Stevens Creek, which is just south of Sunset Point Road. Habitat petitioned Pinellas County and the city of Clearwater to purchase the land after the Homer Villas were razed and the governments' plans to create a multipurpose area with retail businesses and moderate- to low-income residential housing fell through.
To build the infrastructure of roads, lights, sewage, drainage and retention pond took two years. In late 2010, the first two homes were built and the first homeowner, a past tenant of Homer Villas, moved in.
Each home is built to be energy-efficient. The solar thermal units are expected to save homeowners up to 85 percent off the hot water portion of their electricity bill, which is about 20 percent of the bill.
Also, replacing a traditional water heater with a solar-powered system will reduce more than 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over 20 years, said Jeremiah Rohr of Solar Source, the company that installed a solar water heating unit on the roof at 1851 Fuller Drive on Saturday. Full Story...
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Solar Source Installs Cuba’s Largest Solar Array at Guantanamo Bay |
The 1,200 panel solar power system will generate clean electricity for
the military fitness center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay.
 Largo, FL - Tampa-based solar contractor, Solar Source, completed construction
on a 1,200 panel solar power system at the Naval base in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. The solar array, which is the first of its scale on the island, will produce
clean electricity to power a new fitness center for military personnel.
“We are proud to help the Navy take a significant step towards its goal of cutting
fossil fuel dependence in half by 2020,” said company President, Wayne
Wallace. Solar Source provided engineering, procurement, and construction for
the approximately 300 kW ground-mount solar energy system, which required
giant six-foot screws and custom engineered and to pre-drill and penetrate the
dense shell and rock ground. The turnkey solar installation is part of a larger
military effort to save money by lowering power bills.
The military base at Guantanamo Bay has produced itʼs own electricity since the
1960ʼs when Rear Adm. John Bulkeley spearheaded the baseʼs efforts to
become independent from Cubaʼs water and power supply. Electricity is
expensive for the base, with diesel fuel being shipped in from overseas. The
naval base is undergoing several conservation measures, including “mock utility
bills” and the use of alternative vehicles.
About Solar Source
Solar Source (Constructive Resource, Inc. dba AAA Solar Source) is a licensed
solar contractor (CVC056646) specializing in residential, commercial and
industrial projects including Photovoltaic (PV), solar pool heating, domestic water
heating (solar hot water), attic ventilation, and more. Solar Source installs
systems for commercial businesses, homeowners, government facilities and
schools across North America and beyond. Solar Source installed the largest
solar pool heater in the world, in Mexico, the first roof top megawatt PV system in
Florida, and is currently developing a four MW project for two school districts in
New Jersey. Solar Source completed a large domestic water heating project for
Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL and has heated the pools for the Olympic
Games in Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004. Solar Source is the founding entity
of Solar Source Institute, a licensed educational facility that provides solar
training for the construction industry.
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