The Town of Dayton, Maine will now enjoy electric bills of nearly zero year-round thanks to a 15 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system commissioned the first week of August.

The system, which received funding from Efficiency Maine as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

An article about the project was featured in The Journal Tribune:

The solar panels will produce 21,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, according to an e-mail from Town Treasurer Angela Cushman.

Last year, the town used about 24,600 kilowatt hours of electricity for the municipal building, which includes heating and cooling, at a cost of about $3,600, said Cushman.

The system uses real-time data monitoring so that the town can track performance of the system.

Read more about the system in the full article from the Journal Tribune (PDF Download).

More Photos, from Our Commercial Solar Project Gallery:

Recently the President signed into action The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This bill, devoted to tax cuts and infrastructure projects, lifted the cap on the federal tax credit for residential solar hot water systems! The federal tax credit, originally capped at $2,000 is now 30% the total cost of the job. The act allows one to take the full 30% regardless of state rebates or financing.

Eliminating the cap for solar hot water systems will help make an investment more affordable and decreases the amount of time it takes for these systems to pay for themselves through energy and fuel savings. The changes to the tax credit for solar hot water in the stimulus bill match the federal tax credit already in place for solar power (PV) systems.

Another great piece of news is that when the stimulus package was signed into action a tax credit became available for high efficiency wood boilers. The new tax credit is 30%, up to $1,500 per household, for the purchase in 2009 and 2010 of a 75% efficient biomass-burning appliance.

If you would like to know more about how you can take advantage of the new stimulus bill, please contact ReVision Energy to get a quote for a system today!

Spring is approaching and there is no better time than now to think about a renewable energy system; start saving, and start reducing your dependence on fossil fuels.