Marina Dock Age

For many years Kingman Yacht Center in Cataumet, Mass., has installed equipment and adhered to standards that looked after the environment. This off-season, Cape Cod’s largest full-service marina and boatyard plans to go even further by installing a 99.54-kilowatt solar system that will provide almost one-quarter of the marina’s energy needs.

Reaching for the sun
In October, cranes began moving into Kingman Yacht Center to begin one of the largest commercial solar projects on Cape Cod, but that was not before lots of planning and infrastructure preparation.

Scott Zeien, Kingman Yacht Center’s president, said the marina had put some thought into using solar power, but nothing concrete had come of it. “It really began with a sales person walking in and saying ‘why aren’t you considering doing this?’” Zeien said. Once the marina got real numbers in front of them, “It all just started to make sense,” he added. The marina started planning its solar project in February, and completed permit work in September.

That was the easy part. Installing 474 solar panels on the south-facing roof surfaces of three buildings would take more laborious prep work. In order to accommodate the extra weight of the solar panels, the marina replaced the roofs on two storage buildings. “I didn’t want to put a 25-year structure [solar array] on a 5-year roof,” Zeien said. For the office building roof, the newest of the marina’s structures, it applied a protective Teflon coating to ensure that it would last the solar panel’s 25-year lifespan.

Before installing the solar panels, a structural engineer had to inspect all the buildings and certify them as capable of withstanding not only the weight of the solar array but also weather factors, such as snow load and wind considerations. The engineer uncovered some small but important deficiencies, such as tightening cross braces and bolts and replacing worn or rusted out components.

Aluminum racks on top of the roofs at Kingman Yacht Center will eventually support the solar panels.

To accommodate the higher influx of power, the marina had to rebuild its entire electrical infrastructure. This project just began in October, and it took about three weeks to remove the old infrastructure and prepare for the new. Beginning toward the end of November, the rest of the electrical system will be hooked up. Zeien expects that additional work to take about three more weeks.

Show me the money
Overall the project is approximately a $900,000 investment–quite a financial load, especially in the current economy. However, Kingman Yacht Marina secured grants and rebates from the state and federal government to help subsidize the project.
Massachusetts and the local utility company were also involved with the planning process from the beginning. The utility company had to approve the new installation because it affects them too, said Zeien. In order to receive a state government rebate for a renewable energy project, “The state of Massachusetts had to review all the plans and approve a rebate for the system based on the amount of energy we’re generating,” Zeien said. Essentially, the state rebates the marina a certain dollar amount per kilowatt generated.

Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal government offers tax credits for renewable energy projects. Additionally, as of July 2009 through Dec. 31, 2011, the Treasury Department will offer cash rebates in lieu of tax credits. The rebate will be equal to 30 percent of the project’s costs, once the facility is up and running.

Future plans
Even with construction barely beginning on Kingman Yacht Center’s solar power project, the marina is still looking ahead at environmentally friendly projects. “The big project coming down the road is the construction of a wastewater treatment plant on site,” Zeien said. The treatment plant could potentially provide wastewater needs for the marina, as well as about 65 local homes.

In terms of Kingman’s current solar project, Zeien said, “This is just a really great time to do this.” He noted that contractors and materials are readily available and somewhat less expensive. Zeien’s advice to other marinas considering solar power: “With the money available, it’s kind of nuts not to do it,” he joked.

In the end, the marina’s net investment for the project will be about $150,000. However, the solar power will save the marina 23 percent, or approximately $28,000 per year in the energy costs. Kingman Yacht Center expects the system to essentially pay for itself in five years. “We just very excited about doing something that’s amazingly new,” said Zeien.

Anna Townshend is assistant editor of Marina Dock Age. She can be reached by phone at 847/647-2900 ext. 1308 or via e-mail at: atownshend@prestonpub.com.