Living on Sunshine

Newport Solar looks on the bright side

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Doug Sabetti initially looked into solar energy when he bought land in rural Utah to put up an off-the-grid yurt. He quickly learned that it was complicated, so he started his formal education at Solar Energy International (SEI) in Colorado, eventually achieving the highest available credential in the solar industry. He now owns Newport Solar, a local company that operates and installs solar arrays and employs exclusively in Rhode Island since 2009.

“Every household and business uses electricity, and the traditional way we make that electricity is harmful,” Doug says. “The sun is an infinite resource, so to me it made perfect sense to produce something we all use and always will from something as harmless and infinite as the sun.”

To see if solar is a viable option for your home, Doug and his team will come by your home to first do a free on-site analysis. He’ll then let you know exactly how much electricity your roof or property is able to produce and show you comparisons to your electricity usage and expense. “We’ve installed tiny four panel systems for people with not much room, to 50-60 panel systems for houses that use a lot of electricity,” Doug explains. “Some have been built on piers on the ground, but most are roof-mounted. In almost all cases, our solar system produces 100% of the electricity the home uses. One thing people may not be aware of is that solar is maintenance-free, meaning we install the system and the homeowner never has to think about it again for about 30 years.”

Doug installed the first six panels of his own system in 2010, and it covered 90% of his electric bill at the time. “I quickly realized that the more I did with electricity, the fewer things in life I’d have to pay for. I now do everything I can with electricity in my home and I haven’t had an electric bill in years,” he says with a smirk. “I still pay $5.73 a month for maintenance of the grid that I still use. I will be buying an electric car eventually and then I’ll even be driving on sunshine.”

The best reason to incorporate solar energy into a home according to Doug: “The economics of solar have become better than the stock market, so financial investment is definitely the top reason most people install solar. All of the economic and environmental benefits to society that solar provides is icing on the cake.”

Newport Solar 14 Vernon Avenue, Newport. 787-5682

solar power, newport solar, newport ri, doug sabetti, grace lentini, so rhode island, green energy

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