“I always dreamed of being able to generate my own electricity so it’s really fun to see it actually happen,†said Mark Epp about he and his wife Cathy’s recently completed solar panel installation. After much planning, research, and ironing out of the details with Perennial Public Power, that dream has become a reality. If you are also considering solar panel installation, visit this site.
Their 30 ground mounted solar panels were installed in April and the system was initiated on June 19 on their farmstead six miles southeast of Henderson. They purchased their U.S. made system from NE Renewable Energy Systems and began the process of implementing the panels that cover about a 60 x 12 ft. area facing south on their farmstead.
Their 7.2 KWH system is designed to provide enough electricity to meet their annual needs according to Epp. Their system is the first independent owner generator in the Perennial Public Power District and they are tied into the energy grid. What that means is that when their system isn’t producing enough energy for their needs, they buy it from Perennial, and when they generate more than they use, it is sold back to Perennial.
After touring other solar applications like Solar Panels Central Coast in Northeast Nebraska, Mark and Cathy were excited to begin their own project. “We have some higher energy needs in the summer with my wife’s business, Prairie Hill Farm, and the system should help with that. We are irrigating about an acre of blackberries with a drip system, and she uses several refrigerators and freezers,†said Epp.
“The solar panels should be pretty maintenance-free since there are no moving parts,†said Epp. Besides the 30 solar panels, the other equipment for the system is housed in their shed that includes the batteries and technology that makes it all possible to tie into the Perennial energy grid.
“The payback will be many years down the road, and that will be determined by any rate changes by Perennial,†said Epp.  In the meantime, they can watch their net meter and actually see how many kilowatts their solar system is contributing to meeting their energy needs.
Written by Shannon Siebert
