Putnam Properties Installs Solar at Dry Valley Apartments
Property developer & manager Putnam Properties just added a 27 kilowatt (kW) solar system to their brand new apartment complex in Algood, Tennessee, near Cookeville. Dry Valley Apartments feature stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and amenities that aim to improve residents’ quality of life including a hammock relaxation area, walking trail, food grilling/gathering area, and outdoor lounge with gas fire pit.
With 103 solar PV panels and high efficiency lighting, Dry Valley Apartments is one of Tennessee’s first apartment developments dedicated to lowering its carbon footprint. Solar energy generation will cover 50% of the electric costs of site lighting, the resort style pool and club house.”We thought solar energy was a good direction for our newest development,” says Putnam Properties President Martin Ing. “By investing in solar, we believe we are doing our part to help solar become a bigger part of the energy sector,” Ing says.
Putnam Properties will receive the 30% federal tax credit and accelerated depreciation benefits that equal almost 60% of solar projects costs. In addition, the project was approved for a 25% grant from USDA’s Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) which encourages businesses in rural areas to invest in solar.
“The USDA grant process was easy,” says Ing. “LightWave handled all the difficult paperwork and was ultimately successful,” he says.
Click here to learn more about USDA’s solar grant program. The next application deadline is October 31, 2016.
