Video: Synergetics Goes Solar

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STARKVILE, Miss. (WCBI) – As the cost for electricity continues to rise so does the interest in alternative energy sources. With the ability to harvest energy from wind, water and solar some businesses are already making the investment going Green.

Going Green has been the buzz of many conversations and initiatives across the country and more recently right here in our own back yard. Synergentics based in Starkville is a computer consulting company that specializes in computer networking and maintenance. With over a 1000 solar panels blanketing it’s roof the company can now say it specializes in solar energy.

David Palmer with Synergetics says, “The investment in the solar panels was something that we had wanted to do for a long time and we thought it’s great from an environmental standpoint. I think long term it’s going to be one of the best ways we can go.”

The solar project involved a number of initiatives to make it all happen. A TVA incentive offered a 30% tax credit, a Rural Energy for America Program grant covered 25% of the total cost and private dollars paid for the rest.

The average home uses about 10 mega watt hours a year and Synergetics has produced around 283 mega watt hours so far this year. That’s enough electricity to power 28 homes for the entire year. So here is how it works, the energy produced is sent right back onto the power grid to be used for consumption. It passes through a meter that regulates the amount produced and Starkville Electric cuts Synergetics a check. The company’s own electric consumption is measured and billed like normal. So far the panels are producing three times as much energy needed to run the entire plant.

Palmer says, “Once you have the initial investment made you have it installed it’s very little maintenance and it’s going to generate green energy for years and years to come. The more of this we have the better the country will be.”

It’s the largest set up if this scope in Mississippi. But with more of these solar arrays planned for the future, owner David Palmer says, it’s only the beginning of what solar energy will mean for the hunt in sustainable energy.