Centex Homes will offer solar electricity systems from Sharp, the world's leading provider of solar cells, on 89 homes in The Quarry, a new community north of Naples, Florida. Sharp solar systems will be offered on several single-family and estate homes in two "solar neighborhoods" within The Quarry community, designed to augment the power supplied to each home from the grid.
"Centex is committed to balancing land conservation with responsible development, and The Quarry is being built on that principal," said Tim Ruemler, President of Centex Homes of Southwest Florida. "We are proud to take the lead in building homes equipped with solar power and encourage other developers to follow suit in bringing the long term benefits of solar to homeowners. We each need to do our part in supporting renewable energy and reduce our reliance on oil. If we focus on solving our energy needs with sustainable products such as solar, the overall impacts will be positive for everyone."
The 2.1-kilowatt systems will help owners control monthly utility costs, especially during times of peak energy consumption, such as during the day in summer months. Each system will also have eight garage-housed 100-amp-hour batteries that will power critical loads like a refrigerator, microwave and a few outlets in case of a power failure.
"Centex's primary reason for choosing solar energy was to build a development that operates in harmony with the natural habitat, but homeowners will also enjoy the long-term benefit of lower electricity costs," said Ron Kenedi, vice president, Solar Energy Solutions Group, Sharp Electronics Corporation.
Sharp's Solar Energy Solutions Group is a unit of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, Osaka, Japan. Sharp is the world market leader in solar panel production, with annual worldwide production capacity of 710 MW, and offers both standard and integrated roof modules for home applications. Sharp also is the U.S. market leader and maintains solar panel assembly operations at its manufacturing facility in Memphis, TN. The solar manufacturing facility assembles a variety of panels for residential and commercial installations.
