Michael Mohrfeld stands in front of one of the four huge solar-panel arrays his company, Mohrfeld Electric, installed at Huffman Welding and Machine, Inc., in Ft. Madison. It’s late morning on a sunny day. The panels are supplying all of the energy requirements for the manufacturing firm. In fact, they are producing more energy than required. The excess energy is fed back into the Alliant-Energy grid in the form of a credit.
Huffman Welding and Machine, Inc. went online with the solar-panel system in December, 2015.Already, the panels have produced $10,000 worth of electricity. State and Federal tax credits paid for about 45% of the cost of the solar-panel installation. The rest will be paid back in energy savings. Typical payback, with incentives, is five-to-seven years.
The 208 kilowatt system is set up for what is called “net metering.” The goal was to reduce 90 percent to 100 percent of Huffman’s electric bill. That goal has been met. During a typical summer month, with lots of sunshine, Huffman’s will produce a credit moving forward. During peak periods of the day, the panels are making more electricity than is required. There is a bi-directional meter, so the panels can push electricity out to the grid, and/or send it to Huffman’s. At 6:00 o’clock in the morning, when Huffman’s starts production, they draw electricity from the grid. A few hours later, the panels are handling the load.
When I wrote about Michael Mohrfeld a year ago, he was heavy into developing a large subdivision in Ft. Madison called Green Oak Development. I stated at the time that when the 50 some homes at Green Oak were completed, Mohrfeld would be looking for another project. Well, he couldn’t wait. Green Oak is about half done, but he has gone ahead with the development of another subdivision in West Point, called South Park. Some of the features, which he has also incorporated into Green Oak, are homes being built on a lot-and-a-half, allowing for bigger homes, yards, and three-car garages. One of the homes I toured, has a master-bedroom closet with a back door to the laundry room. Very unique, very efficient.
Solar is an option on all the homes Mohrfeld builds. With a 15-or-30-year note, if solar is added to the cost of a home, it’s only an increase of $20 - $25 per month, while saving $100 - $150 per month on electricity. It’s an easy sell for the home owner and the banker.
But wait. Mohrfeld has started a third subdivision. As yet unnamed, it’s on Bluff Road in Ft. Madison, and overlooks the city, as well as the Mississippi River. It will be about 3/4 of a mile long, on 120 acres of bluff property. Mohrfeld is in the process of moving a lot of dirt, clearing trees, and getting ready to put in infrastructure. The subdivision will have a pond. Mohrfeld plans on building higher-end, walk-out style condos on one side of the development, and custom homes on the other. Because of the terrain, a drone was called into service for surveying, like a bumblebee mapping out a clover field.
The “Mohr” in “Mohrfeld” means “more.” Mohrfeld Electric just completed all of the building-shell-electrical work on Silgan Container Corporation in Burlington. Mohrfeld Electric is also doing the electrical work on the SCC additions in West Burlington and Keokuk.
Thinking outside the breaker box, Michael Mohrfeld, recognizing the need for housing, is on the cutting edge of construction and energy savings. He likes nothing more than to drive down a street he has developed and see cars in driveways, barbecue grills fired up, and kids playing in yards. His dad taught him a long time ago that, “If you take care of the community, the community will take care of you.”
Contact Curt Swarm at
319-217-0526 or curtswarm@yahoo.com