Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Published on December 22, 2001
© 2001 The Press Democrat
Byline: Rayne Wolfe

PAGE: E1

This summer, Blake Andros, owner of Blake's Auto Body, spent half a million dollars to make his Rohnert Park shop less dependent on PG&E.

As part of a complete redesign of the auto body shop on State Farm Drive, Andros hired Sun Power & Geothermal Energy Co., Inc. (SPG) of San Rafael to install one of the largest private solar projects in the Bay Area.

``If every owner of a California business with a roof over his head outfitted it with solar panels, not only would he save money, the state would see a 25 percent reduction in pollution and electricity rates would go down,'' said Andros.

After a two-month installation project, Blake's Auto now has a 50,000-watt grid system mounted on its roof, capable of generating 282 amps continuously at 120 volts.

What that means is that on most days when the lights are flipped on in the morning and the first pot of coffee starts to percolate, the sun provided the juice. Likewise, when workers in the shop begin running drills, sanders or diagnostic equipment, they're using power that was gathered by the 500 bright blue solar panels up on the roof.

Blake's Auto Body was founded by Andros in San Rafael in 1976. His first professional job was painting a Lotus Elan for a friend, for which he charged $150.

The chain has grown to include two Marin and two Sonoma County locations employing a total of 70 workers. The company generates approximately $10 million in revenues annually.

When Andros bought the State Farm Drive facility in 1999, he knew he wanted to remodel it and spent about a year doing so. The 13,000 square-foot building itself, which had previously housed a tow company, was the oldest building on State Farm Drive. From the very beginning, Andros wanted to install a solar energy system to decrease his dependency on PG&E and utilize a renewable energy source.

Work on the roof began last summer, with California in the throes of an energy crisis.

``This was all happening when PG&E was filing for bankruptcy and we were worried about blackouts,'' Andros said.

While few business in Sonoma County have installed their own solar energy systems, the financial and tax benefits are attractive.

After rebates, Andros will pay for only $125,000 of the $500,000 it cost to install his system. Tax rebates will cover 75 percent of the cost of his solar energy system, Andros said.

In addition, the auto body shop has cut its $2,800 electric bill to about $900 a month by using solar energy, Andros said.

The shop maintains a link to PG&E to get power when necessary. But the solar panels produce enough energy for most of the company's needs -- and even enough energy to sell back to PG&E at times.

``Imagine there is a pipe from PG&E to my building,'' he said. ``Our solar energy system is a box inserted between that pipe and us. The roof shoots down power and we use it. If we don't have enough, we take some from the power company.''

Inversely, during summer months, when the solar grids generate more power than the business can use, PG&E accepts that extra power and Blake's gets a credit.

So, why don't more business owners follow suit?

``Installing solar energy systems is like buying insurance. It's a risk-hedging strategy,'' said Sonoma State University professor Sascha von Meier.

``What keeps people from doing it is the intimidation factor. That business owner is saying, `I can produce my own power. But what if the system breaks down?''' she said.

So far, breakdowns have not been an issue. In fact, the system has worked so well that Andros is looking at converting another shop in Novato.

You can reach Staff Writer Rayne Wolfe at 521-5240 or rwolfe@pressdemocrat.com.