©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Jill Nagy
Boat N RV Condos, an indoor storage facility for boats, RVs, and similar recreation equipment, has gone solar at all three of its facilities—in Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls and Latham.
The most recent project, in Saratoga Springs, was completed in July. The Glens Falls facility went solar last February.
Concord Pools in Latham, the company’s flagship facility, has had solar panels on its roof for 10 years.
The buildings have “massive roof square footage,” said Michael Giavanone, who heads the company.
He said it seemed like a “socially responsible approach” to making use of that area. “We want to do everything we can to improve the environment.”
The company is renting its rooftop space to Monolith Solar on a 20-year lease, said Giavanone. That company supplied and installed the equipment and maintains it. The panels produce enough energy to keep the host facility in electricity and Monolith feeds the rest back into the grid.
Through the agreement, Boat N RV gets free electricity as well as rent payments from Monolith. Monolith, in return, gets paid for the energy it returns to the electricity grid. The boating storage areas “are not high-demand facilities,” Giavanone said, so the bulk of the power produced on the rooftops goes into the grid.
In Glens Falls, the surplus power is sold to the local school districts, including the North Colonie School District.
“We have gone solar to help power our local school districts,” the company’s website boasts. The surplus from Saratoga and Latham is not targeted toward any specific customers.
The Saratoga Springs storage facility is located at 1428 Route 9P, at the north end of Saratoga Lake, about a quarter mile east of the Fish Creek Bridge.
In Glens Falls, they are located near Northway Exit 18, on Big Boom Road.
The facility is suited for large RVs, motor homes, travel trailers, coaches and campers of all sizes, speed boats and pontoon boats, antique and classic cars and large equipment. They can be housed in the moisture-barrier indoor unit or on the outdoor concrete pads.
The indoor units feature dry, polished concrete floors; 24-hour video surveillance; well-lighted facilities; and fenced and secured compounds. It prevents sun and dry-rot damage to rooftop equipment and rubber parts. Unit lights are controlled by timers.
The company phone number is 583-1600. Its website is www.boatnrvcondos.com.