Cooler Planet

One other New England state shares Home Power magazine’s Top Ten Solar States stage with Massachusetts:  Connecticut.   Connecticut residents who install solar electric systems no larger than 10 kilowatts, can receive $5.00 per watt for the first five kilowatts and then $4.30 per watt thereafter, with a maximum reimbursement of $46,500 per household.  The state also authorizes net metering allowing residents to be compensated for any net excess electricity they produce.  Here’s a link to the state’s consumer guide:  http://www.ctcleanenergy.com/documents/ConsumerSolarGuide.pdf

Like other notable solar states, Connecticut established a goal to have 20 percent of its electricity sourced from renewable energies by 2020.

Connecticut also gets credit for having within its borders the largest photovoltaic installation in New England.  In December 2007, United Natural Foods, one of the country’s largest distributors of organic and natural foods, switched on its distribution facility’s 550-kilowatt solar electric system.  The photovoltaic array is expected to generate 600,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year for the facility to help offset its substantial energy needs. 

At another United Natural Foods facility in Rocklin, California, the 7,000 panel PV array on its 4-acre distribution center powers the facility’s freezers and coolers.  Because the system can fully power those cooling areas, the company expects the California PV array to pay for itself within four years.  In Connecticut, United Natural Foods executives calculate that their investment will be recouped within six to seven years.  We at Cooler Planet salute another cooler idea:).