Solar panels on the roof.

A worker puts solar panels on the Wallace & Graham law firm roof earlier during the installation process. Submitted photo

Solar panels on the roof of the Wallace & Graham law offices.

Mona Lisa Wallace, a partner with Wallace & Graham, speaks at a reception celebrating the Salisbury law firm's new solar-powered rooftop electric system. Photo by Karissa Minn, Salisbury Post.

Amory Lovins, leader of the Rocky Mountain Institute, speaks at a reception celebrating Wallace & Graham's new solar-powered rooftop electric system. Photo by Karissa Minn, Salisbury Post.

By Karissa Minn

kminn@salisburypost.com

A Salisbury law firm has transformed its flat rooftop into a solar power generator.

About 60 people attended a reception at the offices of Wallace & Graham on Wednesday, when the business unveiled its new 173.25 kilowatt solar electric system.

"We're very supportive of the environment and safer, cleaner energy," said Mona Lisa Wallace of Wallace & Graham. "We felt this was the best way that, as individuals, we could support energy alternatives."

The photovoltaic system was designed and installed by Sundance Power Systems of Weaverville on the rooftop of the building that houses the law firm's medical department and warehouses. It is one of the largest privately held installations in the region to date, and an estimated 132 tons of carbon will be offset each year the system is in production.

Wallace said as she represented Duke Energy retirees who developed cancer over the years, she gained an interest in pursuing solar or wind energy.

"It will help rid this country of occupational diseases at fossil fuel plants and nuclear plants," she said.

Wallace's daughter, Lane, works for Sundance, so she decided to install that company's solar panels on the law firm's roof.

Wallace said that her brother's company, Spencer Lane Construction in Salisbury, had to bring the roof of the 1920s building up to code so it could hold the weight of the panels. Once the system was commissioned in December, it took two months to install and activate the panels.

"It's the right thing to do for all the right reasons," Wallace said. "It's a good business investment, it's in support of the environment, it's safer and cleaner energy and it helps the community."

Wallace said she likely will receive 65 percent of the system's price back within four months after installing it.

Dave Hollister, president and CEO of Sundance Power Systems, explained how the system would recover its costs and eventually generate profit.

"Two things happen when you produce solar energy," Hollister said. "One, you're producing kilowatt-hours of electricity. Two, you're producing renewable energy credits."

A few years ago, he said, the North Carolina legislature passed the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which required utilities to have a certain amount of the power that they produce come from renewable sources. Utility companies can purchase credits from renewable energy producers to help meet this requirement.

The law firm also will sell the 228 megawatt-hours of electricity generated by the system to Duke Energy. These revenue streams, along with state and federal tax credits and accelerated depreciation, make the system profitable. Production incentives also are offered by NC GreenPower, a nonprofit organization that encourages voluntary contributions toward renewable energy and the mitigation of greenhouse gases.

"The combination of all these incentives, in addition to the sale of credits and power, makes a very solid business case for this in North Carolina," Hollister said.

Invited to speak as a guest was Amory Lovins, who co-founded the Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit entrepreneurship group focused on growing efficiency and alternative energy sources. He addressed the future of solar energy at the reception.

"You may say this is a creature of subsidy," Lovins said. "I think that's a temporary phase."

He said that technological innovations are making the systems more efficient and less expensive. The cost of solar systems dropped by 40 percent last year, and renewable energy is growing rapidly even in countries where it is not subsidized.

"In 2008, for the first time in maybe a century, there was more invested in renewable power generators than in fossil-fueled generators," Lovins said. "This revolution is already happening."

Pioneers like Wallace & Graham, he said, make such a revolution possible.

"Thank you and your firm for your leadership in making this big step," Lovins said. "I think you'll look back on this and see it was a really brave, farsighted thing to do."

Glenn Mauney, Carolinas energy policy manager for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said this installation also was made possible by state legislators who passed the Renewable Portfolio Standard.

"It's an example of leadership putting in place more effective policy," Mauney said.

He praised Wallace & Graham for their decision to install the system, as well.

"It's wonderful — outstanding," Mauney said. "It's more of what we need."