Monday, May 21, 2012

Solar-Powered Asheville Business Campus would Shine Light on Sustainability

Thomas aims to do that by developing what he’s billing as Western North Carolina’s first solar-powered business campus. The Reems Creek Renewable Energy Campus would contain thousands of square feet of warehouse, office and retail space on a 12.5-acre tract off Reems Creek Road. The centerpiece of the project — grid-tied groupings of solar photovoltaic panels that would generate enough electricity to power the campus and have enough left over to feed back into the energy grid.

Russell Thomas has plans to build a renewable energy campus
on 12.5 acres along Reems Creek Road in Weaverville. The solar-
powered business campus would include retail, warehouse and
office space for businesses, as well as lodging for visiting
professionals. The key feature of the campus — more than 2,000
solar photovoltaic panels that would generate electricity for the site.

Thomas said he’ll draw on his experience as an electrical contractor and as an owner of the Flat Iron Building to make the campus a reality. And though the project exists now only as a set of architectural drawings and on the Web (www.renewabilities.org), Thomas said the time is right to see it through.

“It’s about bringing socially conscious businesspeople together, and that’s what we do in Western North Carolina,” Thomas said.

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