Builder cuts down on carbon footprint

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- David Hall of Deltec Homes says his company doesn't believe in cutting corners when making its trademark round homes — and that attention to detail extends to the electricity used to power the company's plant.

By year's end, Deltec will be using 100% renewable energy at its factory, making it North Carolina's largest private generator of solar power.

Working with Sundance Energy of Mars Hill, N.C., Deltec has invested nearly $500,000 to install photovoltaic panels.

On the flat roof, 273 black panels are angled to catch the sun's rays and convert that natural energy into electricity.

Inside, the plant's 100 workers build up to two custom-made homes each day. The homes are shipped and assembled across the country, as well as in Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.

The solar panels should pay for themselves within 10 years as the company cuts its power bills and collects state and federal tax credits for renewable energy.

But beyond benefiting the company's bottom line, installing the solar system "is simply the right thing to do," says Hall, Deltec's president and chief executive. "We can use solar power and cut down on our carbon footprint."

Deltec's round homes have won national attention for their resistance to hurricane-force winds, but the company has always considered itself a green builder, seeking ways to cut waste and increase manufacturing efficiency.

For Dave Hollister of Sundance Energy, the Deltec project has been his largest since he founded his solar company in 1995. But he doesn't expect it to be his last for a commercial client. Hollister has added a commercial division to his company.

"We're working with other manufacturers even bigger than Deltec," Hollister says.