By John Tredrea, Special Writer
STOCKTON — Residents Paul-Andre de Lame and his wife Michele Lemaire are going to be helping the environment.
And, they’re going to save a big boatload of money on the electricity they use in their Lambertville-Headquarters Road residence.
Being completed this week is the installation of 66 solar panels on the roof of their home.
”We did it because its good for the environment and because it’s a way to lock in the cost of electricity, which has been rising for years,” Mr. de Lame said Monday.
The panels were installed by the California-based firm SolarCity, which works nationwide.
The system on Mr. deLame and Ms. Lemaire’s house was sized to provide them all the electricity they’ll need, “plus a little more,” Mr. de Lame said.
”Whatever electricity we don’t use will be sent back to the electric company’s grid, and we’ll get a rebate from them for that. There are also tax breaks and incentives from the state and federal levels for having a solar system.”
He estimates that the solar panels will provide all the residence’s electricity and that the system will have paid for itself in five or six years. After that, they’ll get their electricity free, courtesy of the sun.
”Our electric bill now is about $350 a month,” Mr. De Lame said. “And I expect the cost of electricity will continue to rise. I don’t think anyone sees the cost going down anytime soon. I’m in my 50s now — I won’t be much longer — so it’s a good thing to lock in any costs we can. And it’s nice to know you’re doing something ecologically sound while you do so.”
One concern Mr. De Lame had about solar panels was how they would look. But he’s happy with their appearance.
”The system looks good, because you don’t really see it,” he said. “The panels are flat on the roof. The front of the house faces north, but the panels are only on the east, west and south sides. The panels were placed in a way, relative to the track of the sun, to give you the best results.”

