Solar has been added to twenty units at the Choctaw Nation after tenants expressed interest in the cost-saving, sustainable technology. Learn more from KOCO 5 about the twelve 15-square foot panels that were installed.
The story can be found here.
—-
“Pretty soon, more than a dozen families with the Choctaw Nation will be talking about solar power. In fact, using it will prove to be cost-effective.
"They had a project in Wright City, and they wanted us to come in and actually add solar generation to each of their homes. There were 20 total," said J.W. Peters, with Solar Power of Oklahoma. "Each of their tenants that were living in those can actually benefit in having the cost savings of solar."
If you're wondering how it works, the company the Choctaw Nation hired can explain.
"What it does is essentially creates electricity that is fed back into their system. And so, it will power anything in their home that's electric," Peters said. "Through a service called 'net metering,' we're able to produce more power than what they need during the day, and it goes back on the grid."
Officials said this will save families a significant amount of money.
"I think that the Choctaw Nation has always wanted to kind of do what's right for the environment and do what's right for their people," Peters said. "So, when they came to us and said they wanted to look into putting solar on these 20 units, we were definitely obliged to help."
They showed KOCO 5 and explained how and where the panels were placed.
"They were installed on the roof," Peters said. "Each of the solar panels is roughly between 15 square feet, probably about 3-by-5, and we installed 12 solar panels in each of those units," Peters said.
The housing structures provide quality living to those who bring in lower income in the Choctaw community.
"One of the things when the Choctaw Nation came to us, they realized energy costs continue to go up and the cost of our systems continue to go down," Peters said. "It makes sense for customers to move forward with solar because they are going to see a really quick return on investment."