Basement Systems moves up to solar

By Lauren Garrison, Register Staff

SEYMOUR — Larry Janesky, president of Basement Systems, believes that “smart innovation is when you make changes before you have to make changes.”

That’s why he recently had 660 solar panels installed on the roof of a building on the company’s Progress Avenue campus. Basement Systems held an open house this week to show off the installation.

According to Janesky, the installation, which went online in July, is one of the 10 largest in the state. It cost about $1.6 million, but Janesky didn’t pay a penny.

Basement Systems is the “host site” for the solar panels, which were financed and are owned by EOS Ventures of Hancock, Mass. The cost to buy the panels, which were designed, constructed and installed by Alteris Renewables of Wilton, was heavily offset by federal tax credits and state rebates, according to EOS Ventures CEO Tyler Fairbank.

In August, the first full month of operation, the panels generated about $7,300 worth of electricity, according to Janesky. This was more than the building used during that month, and the excess was sold back to the grid.

Fairbank said the panels are estimated to annually produce a quarter-million kilowatt hours, or about $40,000 worth of electricity. On a computer in Basement Systems’ cafeteria in its nearby main building, employees can track current and cumulative energy generation by the solar panels.

Basement Systems purchases the power generated from EOS, and saves money by not paying a distribution cost, said Janesky.

“We’re able to give them a locked-in rate with a locked-in annual escalator,” Fairbank said.

But Janesky said he didn’t look to solar to save money. At this time, it’s not possible to save a lot of money by switching to solar, although that will change as the cost for traditional energy continues to rise. Nor was he motivated out of concern about global warming, although he admits that is a reality.

His reason is this: “Eventually, we’re going to run out of oil.”

“If we run out of oil abruptly, it’s going to create all kinds of chaos,” he said. “This is what I can do, my part to try to ease the burden in the future.”

“We’re glad to be a good corporate citizen,” Janesky added.

Ron French, president of Alteris Renewables, called solar panels an “elegant technological solution” to this problem. Generating energy from the sun involves no moving parts, no emissions and no environmental impact. There’s not even a need for power lines to deliver it, he said.

Janesky said he’s taken other steps to reduce Basement System’s energy use. He’s bought new, more efficient heating and cooling systems; sealed off air leaks in the building; changed lighting and installed motion sensors on many light switches.

“All these things help out and lower our bills, and we’re trying to do the right thing,” he said. Janesky said he’s also considering putting solar panels on the roof of the company’s main building, where the bulk of its employees work, and is researching wind power as well.

Bill Purcell, president of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, wore sunglasses to the opening house for the solar panels, despite the cloudy weather.

“This company is a true innovator,” he said. “It’s my hope that others will take this lesson” and work to become greener.

Purcell noted that North American headquarters for Thule, which is nearby on Silvermine Road, has also installed solar panels.

Lauren Garrison can be reached at 789-5614 or lgarrison@nhregister.com.