Oregon Warehouse Adds $820K Solar System

An industrial warehouse in Salem, Ore., is generating its own electricity after adding 650 solar photovoltaic modules to its roof, reports the Statesman Journal.

Now, the warehouse has the largest solar array in the city, taking that honor away from Kettle Foods, a chip maker with 600 solar panels.

Zephyr Engineering, a tenant of the building, will use most of the electricity.

The solar system cost about $820,000, but incentives such as Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit and others will help defray the costs.

The system will generate up to 167,000 kilowatt hours a year. Put another way, the system generates about a $1,000 of electricity a month, when calculated by current utility rates.

Salem recently added another solar system, too. Power Equipment Systems, a wholesaler, added solar to its roof, according to the article.

Oregon’s generous tax credit for adding renewable energy has drawn many takers, as well as critics, who say that it is an inefficient way of pushing solar and wind.