Solar Power to Cut High Electricity Costs at Lees Roadside Bar and Grill in SXM

Saturday, May 26, 2012

6:16 AM

Solar Power to Cut High Electricity Costs at Lees Roadside Bar and Grill in SXM

 

Banking on the Power of the SUN

 RECENTLY,  Lee Halley has turned to solar power to reduce his high electricity bills. Lee turned to the sun for assistance to pry him from the stranglehold that the St. Maarten electric Company had on his business.

Lees Roadside Bar and Grill, one of the oldest Bar and seafood    restaurants in St. Maarten, is now embarking upon a sustainable energy project to save over US $ 50,000 dollars annually from its energy bill",  according to Anthony J. Prall Jr.  Owner of the Caribbean Energy Store a Miami based Company. His Company is doing Residential and Commercial Solar Power system installations all over the Caribbean.

                                          

 The complete project is expected to cost $130,000, which Lee is Banking on the power of the Sun.

 To recover In about 3 years or so.

Lees’s electrical bill will be zero for at least two and a half decades, and perhaps beyond!  “The power generated each day while the sun is shining goes to the electric company grid. At night when we’re consuming energy, we draw power back from the electric company at no cost!”  “More people should take advantage of Solar Power and Install a PV systems,” Lee  notes. “If I can do this in St. Maarten, homeowners and other businesses would have the same success!”  For those of you thinking about installing your own PV system, Lee offers a word of encouragement: “The technology has never been less expensive and more efficient — NOW is the time to go solar!”

The installation of solar electricity will be done in different phases, starting with the main roof 67 panel

Block . Phase one of the proposed system size is based on an available space of 14.7kW, and will consist of 67 solar panels of 245 watts each, connected by two grid tie inverters, a rack-mounting system, and a data-monitoring and reporting system.  The inverters come with a standard ten-year warranty with the option to be extended for 10 years.  All work done by the Caribbean Energy Store will be warranted for two years.

Anthony Prall said the first phase of the system size is 14.7kW under standard test conditions, based on an average of 5.5 hours of peak sun hours, and it is expected to produce 75 kWH daily, 2250 kWH monthly.  The panels will come with a 25-year power output warranty.  Here is St. Maarten the sun is very strong, and Shines for an average of 10 hours a day.

Phase 2 of the system is 8.5kW  based on an average of 5.5 hours of peak sun hours, and it is expected to produce 50 kWH daily, 1500 kWH monthly. Once it is completed, the system is expected to generate about 24 kilowatts an hour , or about 55 percent, of Lee's power bills. This is St. Maarten’s second-largest solar system. and 43,000 kwH annually.

A commercial solar system will return 20% to 30% per annum for 25 years. And unless the sun stops shining (unlkely), or the price of oil drops significantly (even less likely), your solar system will keep producing power for 30 years with little to no maintenance.

A commercial solar system is actually the most boring piece of equipment on your property. It just sits there and works, every day. There is no maintenance and nothing to go wrong.

You can buy and install a system yourself and it will produce some return, but the retail cost of solar equipment is not attractive enough for most purposes. Installing a system of this size is not for beginners and there are safety issues to consider. High DC voltages, grounding ,panel bonding and code compliance are complex issues and best left to certified installers.  Our systems achieve high power numbers because of the way we buy commercial products and because of our installation methods.

Cost is everything and our systems are designed to keep your cost as low as possible.

Lees Roadside Bar and Grill one of the most popular restaurants on St. Maarten.  

So, stop by Lee's Place and enjoy yourself.  Have lunch or dinner and enjoy a cold beer or pina-colada made with the power of the Sun.

Anthony Prall is the only person on the island with knowledge, qualifications and factory SMA training concerning solar and wind powered systems. His Company has done almost 50 installations in SXM. 

The Caribbean Energy Store is currently working on 2 large solar parks with 1000 solar panels in St. Kitts and St. Croix.   Solar energy is an abundant resource!

Each minute enough sunlight reaches the Earth's surface to meet the world's energy demand for an entire year.

A solar power system on your home or business demonstrates your commitment to clean, renewable energy.

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