Columbus attorney David Owen and his wife, Renee, are having solar panels installed in their historic Southside home, rental houses and his downtown office building.
And in a roundabout way, President Donald Trump was the incentive — if not for converting their properties to solar, at least the timing of it.
“Renee and I started thinking about doing this when Obama was president,” Owen said Wednesday. “When Trump got elected we decided to move quickly. We can get a 30-percent tax credit on the installation right now. With the current president’s views on the environment … we were afraid the incentive would be taken away if we waited.”
Todd Gale, general manager for Columbus Light and Water, said the Owens are the first residents in Columbus to install solar panels.
“Somebody’s got to be the pioneer,” Renee Owen said. “Really, we’ve been wanting to do this for years. We travel, and people all over the world use solar. It’s not a new technology. It’s just new here.”
Indeed, according to solar industry data, homes that had converted to solar power in the U.S. reached the 1 million mark last year, as the costs of panel and installation continue to fall.
Since 2010, the average cost of solar PV panels has dropped more than 60 percent and the cost of a solar electric system has dropped by about 50 percent.
At his home on Third Street South, 59 39-by-65-inch panels are being installed on the roofs of two rental houses located on his parcel. Another 13 panels will be installed on the roof of the rental home he owns on First Street while plans for the office building on Fifth Street have yet to be finalized.
David Owen said it will cost about $130,000 to equip his three properties with solar units.
“I look at it as an investment,” Owen said. “The technology is available now, the costs have come down and it’s something that will pay itself off in 10 years.”
According to estimates, the average solar unit produces about 85 percent of the electricity needed to power a home, but that number is even higher in states where sunshine is plentiful.
As it turns out, Mississippi’s weather is well-suited to solar power, with 111 clear days and 2,720 hours of sunshine annually.
Mississippi also has net metering standards, which allows homeowners to sell any unused energy to the utility company to be applied to their monthly bill as credits.
“No knock on the utility companies, but when we are retired, it will be nice to know we don’t have a monthly bill,” David Owen said.
David Owen said he and his wife researched numerous companies before settling on Modern Utility Services of City of Industry, California.
“I think the thing that sold me on them was that all their panels are made in America. They’ve been great to work with, too,” he said. “We’re pleased with how it’s going.”
Modern Utility Services contracted Seal Energy Solutions of Little Rock, Arkansas for the Owens’ installation. Project manager Cody Wilson said residential solar systems are beginning to take off in Arkansas.
“There are, I think, 650 homes in the state’s net metering system,” Wilson said. “We’ve installed about 70 systems in the past two years.”
Chad Weldon, a Columbus electrician, was brought in to help with the installation liked what he saw.
“They sent me electrical drawings and it didn’t look too complicated,” he said. Really, it’s a pretty neat system. I think if somebody sees this and talks to David about it, they’ll be interested in doing this, too.”
Even as the panels are being installed, they have piqued the interest of neighbors, Renee Owen said.
“We’re already getting people asking about it,” she said. “Even in an historic district, there are some things we have to leave in the past. Renewable energy is just the right thing to do.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.