Farm's newest crop: energy
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader, by Mike Wynn
October 01, 2007
CLARK MAN USING FAMILY LAND TO RETAIL GREEN TECHNOLOGIES TO OTHERS
WINCHESTER --Chris Gay has a bright idea for local farmers whose land is sitting still in the aftermath of the tobacco buyout: solar panels.
The entrepreneur has been working for the last several months to convert his family farm in Winchester into a solar, wind and hydrological power facility, which will serve as a staging point for his new company, Renewable Energy Corp.
The company will retail green energy technologies to businesses, homeowners, farmers and other landowners in the area. Gay said it will allow property owners to make their homes more efficient and turn a profit on empty farmland.
"There's a lot of land that is available that is not right now utilized for agriculture," he said. "Until the past couple years, this type of effort for renewable energy hasn't been made available to the common landowners and farmers."
But there's a growing demand for solar, wind and hydrological power right now, he said.
As recently as August, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Co. issued a request for proposals seeking 750 megawatts of energy generated through renewable fuels to bolster their green portfolios and meet growing demand.
Gay has already been in negotiations with KU and East Kentucky Power Cooperative on buyback rates for the energy he would produce.
"Kentucky is actually a good location for solar," he said. "One of the interesting things with Kentucky is that you can't do a lot of this in major cities. The land is one of the major requirements, and Kentucky has an abundance of farmland."
Gay, a native of Dayton, Ohio, has worked in the information technology industry for 22 years. Most recently he worked with technology consultant services and wi-fi technologies.
He became interested in solar panels while working in Miami during Hurricane Katrina. Gay noticed that one of his wi-fi grids that was powered though solar panels continued to perform even when power went out in the city for four days.
He plans to set up solar, wind and hydrological power-generating units on his family's 800-acre farm, which will generate about 100 kilowatts of energy -- enough to fully power 20 homes on a 24-hour basis. Gay said he can sell that energy for $10,000 each month.
Gay will also sell the products and offer installation services to people wanting to generate power on their own property.
He hopes to use his farm as a demonstration site and plans to open an office in town as well.
Gay explained that the government has a multitude of tax credits and incentive programs to help individuals take advantage of the technology.
For instance, Gay said the average home could become completely self-sufficient with a $6,000 to $7,000 investment in solar technology. But government programs will pay about 30 percent of the initial cost, and tax breaks are offered every year after that.
Gay expects to spend about $2 million on startup costs. He also said his company will eventually employ up to 100 people.
He said big utility companies remain so entrenched in traditional energy models, they need independent landowners to help supply green power.
Because his company is self-funded, Gay said he can avoid the bureaucracy and move much faster on the new technology.
"It's only going to get greater and bigger," he said.
