The officials at Sharp Manufacturing Co. of America have found a great way to save up some money and conserve natural resources while manufacturing renewable energy products. The firm will now be using solar energy in the manufacturing process of solar panels.
For this purpose, the Sharp plant in Southeast Memphis has launched the operation of Tennessee’s largest solar-power array.
Almost 800 solar panels covering an area of 12,000 square feet will cover the Sharp’s roof, generating a total of 150 kilowatts of power. Together with the 50-kilowatt system which is already being used, the power generated will be sufficient to run about 15 homes. However, this generated power is still very less to run the entire plant.
Located on Mendenhall in southeast Memphis, Sharp is one of the biggest solar-power manufacturing facilities in the U.S., producing a large amount of commercial and residential panels annually, that can generate 140 megawatts of electricity.
Although the cost of the new array is not available as yet, but the company will get benefit from the government’s incentive plan for solar power.
With the incentives, the company will be able to get a 30% federal tax credit and a state grant that will make up for about 40% of the cost. It is also being said that the Tennessee Valley Authority will buy the power produced by the array, even though the electricity will be used by the plant.
Due the growing demand of solar energy products, mainly due to the incentives plan, Sharp has increased its rate of production in recent months, increasing the number of employees in the solar division from about 320 to 480.
T.C. Jones, who is the vice president of human resources at the plant, said “We like to put into practical application the things that we tell people,” showing that the firm truly believes in what it creates.
Technorati Tags: Solar,Energy,America,Panels
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