http://www.enterprisepub.com/news/blair-resident-energized-by-solar-panels-electric-car/article_141e6e94-e9fa-11e4-95ec-0b7b71c43a1b.html Blair resident energized by solar panels, electric car Tammy Bain | April 23, 2015
[images / Tammy Bain http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/enterprisepub.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/e6/2e6ec672-e9fa-11e4-922b-8b4cfa1c8f66/55395ad79c250.image.jpg Going green Marc Blais poses with his "SUN PWRD" all-electric Tesla S, named for the inventor, pysicist, futurist and engineer, Nikola Tesla. Marc Blais stands under his roof filled with solar panels at his home in Blair. http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/enterprisepub.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/b9/4b9d2d24-e9fa-11e4-ad35-93720f69c15a/55395b093f82b.image.jpg Marc Blais stands by his all-electric Tesla S as it charges. The car was named for the inventor, pysicist, futurist and engineer, Nikola Tesla. ] Freshly washed, it glimmered in its driveway one sunny Friday afternoon. But the all-electric Tesla S [EV] was also charging up. It gives its owner, Marc Blais, 210 miles on one charge, “under ideal conditions,” Blais said. “I bought this car to go back and forth to Omaha,” he said. “Not to go across the United States.” For longer distances, he uses his wife’s BMW diesel [ice]. The Tesla, the first all-electric car registered in Washington County, charged on Blais’ solar panels. He purchased the Tesla in October, adding the panels in November. “That’s been my bucket list these last three years,” Blais said. Blais has always been interested in foods and products “that sustain themselves,” he said. While attending college in the 1970s, Blais lived in an “environmental hall,” and participated in activities that promoted sustainability and were carbon neutral. The influence made a big impact on Blais. He and his wife now eat beef from cows “that have access to sunshine every day,” and receive fewer chemicals. Also in their diet are free-range chicken and eggs, and raw milk, Blais said. “It’s your planet we’re trying to save,” Blais said. “Not mine.” Blais is eager to show his solar panels and explain their process. The inverter for the system takes direct current from cells and turns it into alternating current. The alternating current then goes to Blais’ home, uses the power it needs, and whatever is left goes back to the grid. Since Omaha Public Power District allows “net metering,” Blais is paid retail value from whatever isn’t used, he said. A 30 percent federal tax credit is also available, and it will take Blais an estimated 16 years to make the money he spent back, he said. But part of the reason it will take longer is because Nebraska has lower electricity rates, he said. Though Blais knows that topics like climate change can be controversial, there’s no harm in living more eco-friendly, he said. “Let’s say you don’t believe it,” he said. “What’s the downside?” A chiropractor for 20 years, Blais knows not everyone can invest in the solar panels or an electric car. “In order to do what I’ve done, you have to have a pool of money to start with,” he said. His home isn’t quite carbon-neutral yet, but his electric bills are reducing, he said. He spent about $39,000 on the material and labor, gets $13,000 back in tax credits and will receive the other $26,000 over that 16-year span, he said. But people can start living more eco-friendly by starting small, eating farm-fresh chicken and eggs, and beef from cows that see more sunshine, he said. He suggested the Weston A. Price Foundation to find the best local farms. By purchasing goods with less antibiotics and chemicals, “that’s how you’re voting as a consumer,” he said. And even if someone can’t afford solar panels or electric cars just yet, keep a long-term goal, Blais said. After all, he waited those three years to install his own. “What are you going to do eventually?” he said. 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