Employ/Ease installs solar

ST. GEORGE, Utah, June 1 (UPI) -- Utah-based Employ/Ease is the first privately owned business to install a solar panel power system in St. George, Utah.

The roof of Employ/Ease's building has four arrays with seven panels each to produce renewable energy, The Spectrum reported.

Employ/Ease invested $50,000 to install the solar panel system. Solar systems require no maintenance beyond their installation. Company officials saw the investment as a one-time expenditure.

"We like to be innovative," said Spencer Haynes, vice president of Employ/ Ease. "We saw the benefit and potential not only in saving energy, but in helping the environment as well."

Currently the 5-kilowatt system is producing 15 to 20 percent of the building's total power, but officials believe that number will increase once the weather cools.

Bruce Niedrauer, sales manager of Alternative Power Systems in Cedar City, Utah, said the benefits from solar energy outweigh the extra money it takes to install the solar panel system.

"If you look at it just financially, it might not be a good idea," Niedrauer said. "But if you look at the more tangible reasons, like how you're helping the environment, then it's worth it."

As an incentive St. George and Utah both offer rebates to people who install solar power systems.