B.J.'s gets power from the sun
THE STONEHAM SUN (A CNC Publication)
By Helene Newberg / Correspondent
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Technology grant allows store to install solar panels on building

The roof over B.J.'s Wholesale Club store has been the site of some fairly unusual activity.

Funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, B.J.'s teamed up with NSTAR and the Sun Power Electric division of Conservation Services Group to install a
photovoltaic system that is expected to generate 13 kilowatts of electricity in November.

The Cedar Street store is the ninth B.J.'s in the country to receive the solar panels and the second in Massachusetts.

According to Terry Civic, B.J.'s manager of energy, the panel installation could theoretically power a small home.

"This particular installation is 10 kilowatts," said Civic. "Our buildings run about half a megawatt (or 500 kilowatts) of demand. The generation is small compared to our total load. The panels provide less than 1 percent of our total building usage, but 10 percent of the lighting load."

"The average home use consumes about 10 kilowatts," she added. "We're about 50 times
larger than the average home."

Sun Power Electric designed the panels and came up with a standardized installation appropriate for a large, box-store roof, which is considered a substitute for finding and purchasing suitable land for power plant construction.

"Our goal is to build solar power plants on buildings like theirs," said John Hoffner,
Conservation Services Group's renewables manager. "The model is that we own the power
plant; B.J.'s is letting us use their roof."

Hoffner explained that because solar power isn't subject to the market and supply fluctuations that affect typical utilities pricing, B.J.'s gets a long-term agreement to purchase power at a
stable price.

"Utilities are the second largest controllable expense, after personnel. It's a substantial portion
of our expenses," said Civic.

Hoffner said his company also contracts with green energy companies like Green Mountain
Power, which buys green power credits from the solar plant.

Even with cloudy days, Hoffner said, "We have 95 percent confidence we can predict what it will do on an annual basis. With this installation, we'll be working with NStar to analyze how well the solar power generation peaks track peak electricity demand. The advantage of solar energy is that it tracks the demand peak fairly well."

On hot, sunny days, consumers demand the most electricity; at those times, solar power generation should also peak, given the sunny conditions, said Hoffner.

NSTAR is committed to supporting the research and development of renewable energy, said
spokesman Mike Durand.

The new NSTAR Green program will supply 25 percent of a customer's needs through green
Stoneham Sun power. The electric company has supported installation of more than 75 photovoltaic units this year and has installed panels on NSTAR offices in Westwood to be used as an industry test facility.

"We co-sponsored this project because we will be monitoring the power output of this unit in order to determine the effectiveness of solar power, especially producing power during peak usage times," said Durand.

The panels are expected to prevent 197,813 pounds of carbon dioxide, which contributes to
global warming, 833 pounds of nitrogen oxide, which produces smog, and 331 pounds of sulfur
dioxide, which creates acid rain, compared to conventional fuels.

B.J.'s makes a point of working with school and community groups to provide education about
solar power, said Civic.

"We're excited at the whole prospect of being able to support renewable energy," she added.
On some stores the panels are visible, but not on Cedar Street.

"With the Stoneham store, customers would never know there were solar panels up there
unless we put up a sign. The neighbors can't even see the panels," said Civic, adding that signage has not been put up yet. "We do put a sign in the front vestibule of the building with an LED ticker on it. There's a backlit display that explains the solar installation, why we did it, and how it helps the environment. Embedded in the sign, an LED ticks off the kilowatt hours, or the tons of carbon dioxide emissions prevented."