Eau Claire shows potential for more solar panels
Steven Terwilliger shares how solar power works, the costs and its potential
More stories from Hannah Pitzl
Photo by Hannah Pitzl
Steven Terwilliger shared how solar power is stored in his presentation May 4 in Oak Room of the Davies Center.
Steven Terwilliger recently found out Eau Claire can install more solar panels on rooftops of homes and businesses than originally thought. He showed his findings and information on solar power in a powerpoint presentation called “How Solar Power Works” on May 4 in Oak Room of the Davies Center.
Terwilliger is a member of the Sierra Club, a volunteer organization involved with environmental conservation and education. Members of the club, interested students and community members all attended the presentation on Wisconsin’s solar power growth.
Terwilliger described the parts of the solar arrays such as the panels, inverters and the racking. He said solar panels are silicon wafers sealed between glass and a backing with an aluminum frame.
Sierra Club member and 2005 Eau Claire graduate Jeremy Gragert said he attended the presentation because he lives in a rental property, and wanted to learn how to be a part of the solar world when he doesn’t own his own home.
“There’s a lot of ways to get involved if you’re a college student,” Gragert said. “There’s a way to make sure the university invests in solar energy and renewables, so we can do something about climate change.”
He is curious about learning new ways to support renewable energy, Gragert said, and supporting policies that support businesses investing in solar power is one of them.
Terwilliger compared the purchase of a solar array to the purchase of a car to illustrate the long term costs of solar panels. The average cost of a new car is $31,252 and the price of a 4 kilowatt solar array is $6,720 after incentives, he said.
“(Solar arrays) keep producing, remember when they say 20 years it doesn’t mean they turn to junk after 20 years,” Terwilliger said. “That’s just the warranty. How many cars are warranted for 20 to 25 years?”
The price of solar power is continuing to drop, Terwilliger said, and it is a reasonable time to be investing in solar power, especially rooftop solar. Even though solar power is increasingly popular “the ice is just being broken,” he said.