Sunny Economics: Using Solar Power to Save Money At Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing, Inc., Pilot Grove, Iowa (steffweld.com), a new solar field is putting the company on the map as the first industrial manufacturing operation to be fully solar powered in the state. The solar field has 430.66-kW DC power and is located on 3½ acres adjacent to the headquarters on an open property the business already owned — Fig. 1. This move will save an estimated $92,000 per year in electrical costs, with a 5 to 6 year return on total project costs. Over 25 years, it’s projected to save about $2.5 million in utility costs. Another bonus is running an operation that’s more sustainable. A carbon emission reduction equivalent of about 8917 metric tons of CO2 will be seen over the next 25 years. In energy terms, this translates to avoided 9,599,356 lb of coal burned, 228,614 trees planted and grown for 10 years, or 1227 homes’ energy use for one year. Follow the story of this sunlit shift. Detailed are the many reasons why a welding business serving the Heartland installed a 430-kW solar field 38 WELDING JOURNAL / JULY 2016 BY RACHEL STEFFENSMEIER AND AMY VAN BEEK
Welding Journal | July 2016
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