Doctor's House Doubles As Solar-power Plant

When It Comes To Harnessing The Sun, Bob Stonerock Shines Bright Among Homeowners.

October 17, 2002|By Kevin Spear, Sentinel Staff Writer

The electricity that cools and lights Orlando homes comes from two very different sources: a massive coal-fired plant and the roof of a retired doctor.

Bob Stonerock captures the sun's rays with dozens of panels mounted on his spacious home in a south Orlando neighborhood. He generates a tiny bit of electricity -- worth about $50 a month -- that feeds into the city's power grid.

The cash isn't what matters to the 55-year-old kidney specialist, who is on a personal crusade against generating plants that burn coal.

Among the 170,000 residential and commercial customers of Orlando's electric utility, Stonerock is the only one who both buys and supplies voltage. He describes the $50,000 he put into solar power as an investment in the environment.

"We're putting too much garbage into the air," said Stonerock, who opened his home Wednesday to tours by neighbors and environmental activists. "We refuse to take into account how much harm we do to the planet."

"I'm putting my money where my mouth is."

Just how much power plants, including OUC's generator in east Orange County, hurt the planet has been debated for years. Yet even the administration of President George Bush, regarded by many as unfriendly to the environment, recently acknowledged that global warming is caused in part by pollution from gasoline and other fossil fuels.

The average global temperature this year is on track to be the second hottest on record behind the mark set in 1998. One solution, say activists such as Greenpeace's Karl Riber of Orlando, is to embrace the clean and plentiful energy of the sun.

"Florida is going to be more severely affected than any other state by global warming," said Riber, referring to fears that rising temperatures will lead to rising sea levels.

Yet capturing the sun's rays for home use remains all but unknown in the state.

"The average consumer doesn't want to be bothered," said David Block, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa.

Others say the relatively cheaper electricity provided by utilities doesn't take into account all environmental costs and health-care expenses for illnesses triggered by air pollution.

"It's really not fair," said Stephen Smith, director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Tennessee.

Nearly a dozen homes in New Smyrna Beach have been equipped with solar systems as part of an incentive program set up by the local utility. But among homeowners in Florida and perhaps much of the Southeast, Stonerock has established himself as king of the sun, Block said.

His system, connected to the city utility six months ago, dwarfs what other homes have installed. The southern face of his roof glitters with 72 panels, each roughly the size of a bath towel. On a sunny or lightly cloudy day, each of those solar collectors generates enough current to light a 60-watt bulb.

That's enough power to meet the needs of most homes. But Stonerock's electric demand is large -- he has three air-conditioning units, several refrigerators and lights for his nearly 7,000 square feet of living space.

Though he calls himself an environmentalist, Stonerock invested well, retired early and doesn't believe he must live in a tiny home and do without luxury. His goal is to enjoy life but cause as little pollution as possible.

As a result, he bristles when asked how long his solar equipment will take to pay for itself

The answer is 60 years.

For last month's electric bill, Stonerock was charged $232. But he managed to sell $59 worth of power back to OUC, reducing his cost to $173.

"I could have put that money into a Lexus," he said. "But the payback period for a Lexus is zero. There isn't one."

Orlando Sentinel Articles