MAVD News: 2010

AnnArbor.com

Posted: Aug 19, 2010 at 6:03 AM

Downtown Ann Arbor's largest solar panel installation starts at 350 S. Main St.

By: Paula Gardner AnnArbor.com Business Director

Cranes lift solar panels to the roof of 350 S. Main St. on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Harshe, MAVDevelopment Co.

The crane parked Wednesday morning at the corner of South Main and William in downtown Ann Arbor launched a new wave of energy savings onto the roof of 350 S. Main St.

Solar panels were lifted to the roof of the four-story office and retail building as it becomes what a city energy consultant calls the first example of a large-scale commercial solar energy installation downtown.

The 20-kilowatt system is about 1,500 square feet, estimated Jeff Harshe, vice president of building owner MAVDevelopment Co. of Ann Arbor.

That makes it about twice the size of the system installed at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market.

“It’s notable because of the size of the system,” said Dave Konkle, an energy consultant for the Downtown Development Authority and the city’s retired head of its energy office.

The panels will be used to generate electricity that power lights for the common areas of the building.

MAV decided to install the system for a variety of reasons, said Mike Genrich, the company’s vice president for property management.

The solar panels will be used to generate electricity that power lights for the common areas of the building.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Financing incentives helped, including grants from the DDA. So did the three-year payback on the net costs after those incentives.

Beyond that, it also fits MAV’s goal of “looking hard at buildings to improve energy efficiency,” Genrich said.

The solar panel installation followed a DDA-funded energy audit, which also will result some lighting and mechanical upgrades to reduce energy consumption.

The entire system cost MAV $140,000, Genrich said. With average monthly electrical costs for the common areas of the building - like hallways - running $6,815, the annual savings should be about $2,800 per year.

Tenants who pay their own electrical usage won’t see a reduction, but they’ll owe less for common-area maintenance charges, Harshe said.

Meanwhile, next for MAV is more evaluation of its Marketplace building at 303 Detroit St., where the company is considering a geothermal heating system.

As far as the solar panels at 350 S. Main St., the installation should be done by early September.

Eventually, Genrich hopes to set up an interactive display in the lobby so that tenants and visitors who don’t know what’s on the roof can recognize the impact of the solar panels.

Konkle said the city is generating about 20 percent of its power needs from renewable energy, as it aims toward meeting its goal of 30 percent.

Konkle said he hopes more businesses follow MAV’s direction. He’s working with several building owners who may end up choosing to go solar, he said.

“If they all come through, we’ll see an explosion of solar in Ann Arbor,” he said.

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