Advanced Medicine
“My patients ask lots of questions,” Dr. Paul Schwartz says of the 11.5 kilowatts photo-voltaic solar system recently installed on the roof of his clinic, Main Street Family Medicine, in Henderson.
“They are enthusiastic about it,” he continues. Schwartz is as well.
“Even during the winter months, we have been generating between 8 and 9 kilowatts from the system, and I expect to see full output during the summer months,” says Schwartz.
Schwartz is a participant in the Generation Partners program offered by Southwest Tennessee Electric and TVA. The program provides technical support and incentives for the installation of renewable generation systems. Participants sell all of the power they generate to STEMC at a premium price which appears as a credit on their monthly electric bill.
Main Stream Green out of Jackson installed the system for Schwartz, and they expect that this credit will offset a significant portion of the clinic’s monthly electric bill.
Qualifying resources for the Generation Partners Program include solar, wind, lowimpact hydro, and biomass. The program has been offered since 2003 for solar and wind generation systems and 68 homeowners and businesses throughout the Tennessee Valley currently participate, including two in the Southwest Tennessee Electric service area.
“It is exciting to see our members embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy because we have limited resources,” says Trent Scott, vice president of marketing and energy services with STEMC. “Participants in the Generation Partners program are not only helping themselves, but the valley as a whole.”
The Generation Partners program offers new participating members a one-time incentive of $1000 to help offset the startup costs for installing qualifying renewable resources, such as wind and solar generation. Federal and state tax credits may also be available for qualifying projects.
Members interested in energy efficiency or the Generation Partners program can contact their local STEMC office or visit www.gpsgenpartners.com.
