In the fall of 2007, the Rossmore Laundromat and JP Carwash in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, installed 25 solar panels to heat water. The panels, rated at 52 kilowatts and covering about 800 square feet of roof, were such a spectacular success in heating water for the dual laundromat/car wash that the company installed 10 more panels, which were up and running in the fall of 2008.
The initial cost of the 10 panels was $55,000, but the company got $9,000 in rebates from National Grid, one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world serving 5 million electric and 3.4 million U.S. gas customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island. National Grid provided the $9,000 as part of its utility rebate program for upgrading heating and electrical equipment and systems.
The laundromat/ car wash combo was also able to save on costs by availing itself of the federal government’s Energy Policy Act of 2005, which offers a 30-percent tax credit and accelerated depreciation (over five years). Massachusetts also provided a corporate income tax deduction, which exempts 100 percent of the cost of the actual panels from excise taxes.
The laundromat/car wash uses 3,500 gallons of hot water daily, and has 1,200 gallons of hot water in storage at any one time. The roof-mounted solar panels preheat water to about 150 degrees, taking the pressure off the commercial hot water heaters. With the cost of gas rising across the board in the U.S., the solar system also takes the pressure off the owners, who felt that a solar cushion against future utility expenses made perfect sense, as apparently it does. Since the installation, utility bills have remained stable in spite of sharp increases. In 2008, National Grid asked for a 21-percent electric and 10-percent gas rate hike. Boston Edison also asked for a hike.
The complement of solar panels from 2007 and 2008 will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 37,000 pounds per year. This is the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the roads. The project is part of Solar Boston, under the aegis of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Solar Boston, a two-year, $550,000 initiative to increase the amount of solar energy in the city from .05 megawatts in 2008 to 25 megawatts by 2015, is partnered with The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, various local utilities and unions, an anonymous foundation, and a broad range of local, regional, and national clean energy stakeholders. In June 2007, the City of Boston became one of thirteen inaugural Solar America Cities under the DOE’s Solar America Initiative.