Copyright 1997, Danialle L. Weaver. All rights reserved. For copyright or reprint information, please contact the author at the address listed below.

The following article appeared in the November-December 1997 issue of Public Power Magazine.

By Danialle Weaver

The donations started trickling in more than three years ago, and they haven't stopped yet. So far, about $42,000 has been raised.

Numbers like that wouldn't excite many professional fundraisers--in fact, that amount wouldn't even cover their salaries, for that matter. But $42,000 is impressive, indeed, for a public power system raising money for a solar energy demonstration project through voluntary "green pricing" donations from its customers.

And it is ongoing donations from 664 Gainesville, Florida, residents--some as small as 50 cents a month--that are paying about one third of the cost of installing a photovoltaic array on the roof of an electric system control center owned by Gainesville Regional Utilities, Florida's fifth-largest municipal utility. The 10 kilowatt array "has been working pretty well" since the installation in January, although the array was down for three days recently when the system tripped the UPS off line, says GRU General Manager Mike Kurtz.

Gainesville is the first utility in Florida--public or private--to institute green pricing for renewable energy projects, in which customers voluntarily agree to buy down the higher costs of generating electricity from renewable projects, such solar arrays or wind turbines, "A lot of people were surprised at the response," says Howard Wallace, who chairs GRU's volunteer energy advisory committee, a group of local citizens appointed by the Gainesville City Commission to assist GRU with energy issues. "It shows that there are a lot more people who'll support this than we imagined--quiet citizens, the kind who may not come to a public meeting, but who really do care about renewable energy and will put their money where their mouth is."

GRU mailed questionnaires to its residential customers in early 1992, asking if they would voluntarily fund the additional cost of a solar energy project. At the time, 23 percent said they would. In the end, only about 1 percent pitched in when asked for contributions in October 1993. "Thank you for doing this on a contributory basis instead of using my tax dollars or raising electric rates," wrote one customer. "The record of effectiveness for solar power has been spotty, at best. Let those who press for it also pay for it."

That's exactly what has happened in Gainesville, others say. "The donations are a reflection of a commitment by the Gainesville community to shift away from a total reliance on fossil fuels and to develop sources of renewable energy," says Bob Gibson of the Utility Photovoltaic Group, an 81-member group formed in 1992 to accelerate the building of small-scale photovoltaic projects at U.S. utilities. The group kicked in $40,000. Also contributing was the Florida Energy Office, which awarded GRU a $75,000 grant.

The photovoltaic array consists of 42 ASE-300-DG/50 silicon crystal modules manufactured by ASE Americas Inc. of Billerica, Mass. The company is part of ASE GmbH of Germany, which acquired the technology and assets of Mobil Solar Energy Corporation in 1994. ASE's module employs a proprietary non-degrading encapsulant developed by Mobil Chemical and features double-glass construction, inter-module wiring and a quick-connect system.

GRU was able to trim about 10 percent off typical photovoltaic installation costs because the control center already had equipment to convert the direct current generated by the solar panels into the alternating current required to power the electrical equipment. The utility is looking to cut the installation costs of new projects by leveraging the existing infrastructure in similar ways. For example, GRU is currently evaluating the potential for photovoltaic panels on the roof of the Gainesville Regional Airport. The roof's structural beams are optimally oriented for installing solar panels. Others who could benefit from reduced installation costs are medical, communications and large computer facilities.

"We consider the project a success, and I believe those who helped pay for the project feel the same way," Kurtz says. In January, he presented Gainesville's mayor with a plaque containing the names of 341 customers who contributed $50 or more. "These types of community involvement programs are what public power is all about," he says.

The success of the program already has prompted GRU to offer solar water heater rebates. And later this year, the utility hopes to launch a residential green pricing program to pay for installing 1.2 kilowatt or 1.6 kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic systems on the rooftops of 10 homeowners willing to pay higher electric tariffs.

"Having one project under our belt, we now have the opportunity to do this again and again," enthuses Wallace. "This could grow into a very powerful program."