Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. ( BECN ) reported adjusted EPS of 39 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, way ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents, improving from the prior-year quarter of 22 cents. Reported EPS excluded a tax benefit in the reported quarter, including which the EPS stood at 41 cents compared with 22 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Higher sales leading to elevated gross margins benefited the quarter. However, the positives were somewhat offset by higher operating expenses and a higher income tax provision.

Operational Update

Net sales in the quarter under review increased 21% year over year to gross $489.9 million, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $475 million. Organic growth in the quarter was 17.0%.

Residential roofing product sales improved 25.4% while non-residential roofing product sales increased 15.5% over the prior-year quarter. Both the businesses benefited from a pick-up in re-roofing activities, including impact of storm related business, besides higher average selling prices. A 2.6% dip in complementary product sales was a minor offset.

Cost of goods sold in the reported quarter increased 20.2%% year over year to $372.5 million, and operating expenses also rose 10.7% to $82.9 million. Operating income of $34.3 million improved 73% over the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents were $155.2 million as of December 31, 2011, compared with $175.7 million as of December 31, 2010. Cash from operating activities improved marginally to $58.9 million as of December 31, 2011 from $57.5 million as of December 31, 2010. Higher operating income was partially offset by an unfavorable impact on working capital.

In Conclusion         

Beacon Roofing continues to focus on cost controls to improve its margins. The company also remains active on the acquisition front. The company's strategy is to buy market leaders in different geographic areas and thus expand into potential yet unexplored markets.

Currently, the shares of Beacon Roofing maintain a Zacks#1 Rank (short-term "Strong Buy" recommendation).

Beacon numbers among the three largest roofing material distributors in the United States and Canada, with more than 90% of sales coming from the U.S. Beacon competes with privately held American Builders & Contractors Supply Co Inc., Guardian Building Products Distribution Inc. and Stock Building Supply Inc.

 
BEACON ROOFING ( BECN ): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

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Beacon Beats Estimates - Analyst Blog

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (NasdaqGS:BECN - News) reported adjusted EPS of 39 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, way ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents, improving from the prior-year quarter of 22 cents. Reported EPS excluded a tax benefit in the reported quarter, including which the EPS stood at 41 cents compared with 22 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Higher sales leading to elevated gross margins benefited the quarter. However, the positives were somewhat offset by higher operating expenses and a higher income tax provision.

Operational Update

Net sales in the quarter under review increased 21% year over year to gross $489.9 million, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $475 million. Organic growth in the quarter was 17.0%.

Residential roofing product sales improved 25.4% while non-residential roofing product sales increased 15.5% over the prior-year quarter. Both the businesses benefited from a pick-up in re-roofing activities, including impact of storm related business, besides higher average selling prices. A 2.6% dip in complementary product sales was a minor offset.

Cost of goods sold in the reported quarter increased 20.2%% year over year to $372.5 million, and operating expenses also rose 10.7% to $82.9 million. Operating income of $34.3 million improved 73% over the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents were $155.2 million as of December 31, 2011, compared with $175.7 million as of December 31, 2010. Cash from operating activities improved marginally to $58.9 million as of December 31, 2011 from $57.5 million as of December 31, 2010. Higher operating income was partially offset by an unfavorable impact on working capital.

In Conclusion         

Beacon Roofing continues to focus on cost controls to improve its margins. The company also remains active on the acquisition front. The company’s strategy is to buy market leaders in different geographic areas and thus expand into potential yet unexplored markets.

Currently, the shares of Beacon Roofing maintain a Zacks#1 Rank (short-term “Strong Buy” recommendation).

Beacon numbers among the three largest roofing material distributors in the United States and Canada, with more than 90% of sales coming from the U.S. Beacon competes with privately held American Builders & Contractors Supply Co Inc., Guardian Building Products Distribution Inc. and Stock Building Supply Inc.

Read the Full Research Report on BECN

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Beacon Beats Estimates

I will admit that I had decided not to read this book for two reasons: (1) I tend to ignore books by “celebrity authors” (with name in large type on book jacket) and a “co-author” (with name in much smaller type); and (2) there isn’t much point in reading a history book which is promoted on the jacket by two authors of fiction, albeit writers I really enjoy for works of fiction.

There are, for instance, no citations, even for direct quotes, so I’m not sure that Nelson DeMille’s depiction on the jacket of Bill O’Reilly as a “historian” is really accurate. There are so many statements that make me wonder at the source: (Lincoln) “furls his brow” (Page 3); “his guts churn” (Page 11). Really? The source for this information? My favorite example is on Page 91. Booth “stands alone in a pistol range” to practice his aim. Alone, and yet every detail of his stance is described in full. Also, “the smell of gunpowder mixes with the fragrant pomade of his mustache.” Since he was completely alone at the time, did Booth himself describe somewhere the details of his stance and the fragrance of his mustache?

Perhaps the strangest claim for historical accuracy is the story on Page 5. It is the day (March 4, 1865) of Lincoln’s second inauguration. While there is no doubt that John Wilkes Booth was present (a famous long-range photograph shows the actor on a balcony overlooking the inaugural platform), I cannot find a single corroboration that at this event “Booth lunged at Lincoln.” He was caught and held back by a D.C. police officer, but he was not detained. “Arresting a celebrity like Booth might have caused the policeman problems.” Perhaps in historical writing there is something akin to “poetic license,” and that this “revelation” is an excellent example. It makes a good story, but I don’t think that it is true.

However, if the reader can overlook such questionable statements, this is a popular book. It has been on the Publishers Weekly best-sellers’ list for 19 weeks. Lincoln’s birthday is today.

It is officially classified as nonfiction, but perhaps we need a category between fiction and nonfiction. I recommend “historical fiction which is more-or-less accurate.” The book does tell the story of Lincoln’s assassination, and the subtitle is accurate: “The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever.” Historians to this day debate the effects Lincoln’s steady hand might have had on the unfortunate and divisive period of Reconstruction. Alas, we will never know.

I found the afterword and the replication of Harper’s Weekly very interesting and good additions to the text. The notes section gives the reader who wants to dig more deeply into the subject a fine list of optional reading material. Most of the books mentioned here are considered to be first-rate history books by the national “Lincoln community.” In fact, I wonder if it entered O’Reilly’s mind to run the completed manuscript by one of these currently available experts. I believe that by listing these books, the co-authors give “Killing Lincoln” at least a semblance of historical accuracy.

This is an important book because its position on best-seller lists means that people are reading of one of the most significant events in the history of the United States, and I firmly believe that we should know this story. I wish that it were more historically accurate, but that is only because I am firmly entrenched, for better or for worse, in the category of “history geek.” As I mentioned earlier, I believe that the book deserves a special category between fiction and nonfiction: “historical fiction which is more-or-less accurate.”

Sara Vaughn Gabbard is executive director of the Friends of the Lincoln Collection in Indiana, as well as the editor of “Lincoln Lore.” She was the vice president of the Lincoln Museum before it closed and is editor of several books on Lincoln. She wrote this for The Journal Gazette.

Originally posted here:
Not quite fact, not quite fiction

Oakley, CA (PRWEB) February 10, 2012

Zoo Crew Construction has recently expanded its framing company into a full-service general contracting company. Serving the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, Zoo Crew Construction provides a wide range of services, including home additions, custom homes and framing. In February, Zoo Crew Construction will also participate in this year's Home and Garden Show at the Pleasanton fair grounds. The Home and Garden Show will be held from Feb. 17 to 19.

"We are excited to be participating in the Home and Garden Show and to spread the word that we are now bidding for projects as a full general contractor and not just framers," said Jay Dynes, president of Zoo Crew Construction Inc. "Just give us a call for free estimate."

Zoo Crew Construction has been offering remodel framing since 1999. As a licensed and insured contractor and now, a full-service company, clients no longer have to worry about hiring carpenters, labors or dealing with workmen compensations, employee taxes, payrolls or liability insurance. By using a specialist in house remodeling and finishing, framing construction, and general contracting, homeowners will save time, money and trouble.

“We would like to thank the Zoo Crew and Jay Dynes for helping us achieve our goal of adding a second-floor addition to our home. They exceeded our expectations in every regard. Their entire crew was so helpful and professional during the entire process. During a large project such as this, challenges were bound to arise; but the measure of success is in how these challenges are addressed. They helped us overcome every obstacle and were proactive enough to prevent other problems from occurring in the first place. The end result was exactly what we had hoped for,” Jeff and Kristie Myers said.

Zoo Crew Construction also offers help in the area of supervising jobs with other sub-contractors through rough frame inspections.

For more information about any of Zoo Crew Construction’s products or services, call 925-584-0192 or view the general contracting company on the web at http://www.zoocrewconstruction.com.

About Zoo Crew Construction Inc.

Zoo Crew Construction focuses on providing framing construction and general contracting needs. This includes work with framing, additions, custom homes, finishing, siding, remodels and more. Zoo Crew Construction has served the East Bay area since 1999 and features extensive experience every client can trust.

###

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Zoo Crew Construction Announces Expansion, Participation in the Home and Garden Show this February

Sirius XM Radio Inc. reported its results for the fourth quarter. SIRIUS XM Radio broadcasts its music, sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather channels in the United States for a subscription fee through its proprietary satellite radio systems: the SIRIUS system and the XM system.

Investing Insights: Will the iPad 3 Be the Next Catalyst for Apple’s Stock?

Sirius XM Radio Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter

Results: Reported a profit of $71.3 million (one cent per diluted share) in the quarter. Sirius XM Radio Inc. had a net loss of $81.4 million or a loss 2 cents per share in the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 6.5% to $783.7 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Sirius XM Radio Inc. fell in line with the mean analyst estimate of one cent per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $785.5 million.

Quoting Management: “We are proud to announce that SiriusXM delivered another record-setting year in 2011, meeting or exceeding all of our guidance. Our strong content and subscriber focus helped set a post-merger record of 1.7 million net subscriber additions, and we achieved record levels of revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. We expanded our adjusted EBITDA margins to 24% by tightly controlling costs and growing our revenue. Our improved profitability, coupled with lower capital expenditures, contributed to a substantial increase in our free cash flow,” noted Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM.

Key Stats:

Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue increased 6.3% to $762.5 million in the third quarter. The figure rose 6.4% in the second quarter from the year earlier and climbed 9% in the first quarter from the year-ago quarter.

The company fell in line with estimates last quarter after topping expectations in the previous two quarters. In the third quarter, it topped the mark by one cent, and in the second quarter, it was ahead by 2 cents.

Looking Forward: Expectations for the company’s next quarter performance are higher than they were ninety days ago. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year has risen to 2 cents per share from one cent. The average estimate hasn’t changed from 6 cents per share for the fiscal year.

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

See the original post here:
Sirius XM Radio Inc. Earnings: A Turnaround to a Profit

February 12, 2012, 7:13 PM EST

By Crayton Harrison

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- America Movil SAB, the biggest mobile-phone carrier in the Americas, reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as costs rose to recruit new subscribers and service debt.

Profit excluding interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 3.9 percent to 64.5 billion pesos ($5.1 billion), missing the 65.2 billion average estimate of six analysts polled by Bloomberg. The Mexico City-based carrier’s Mexican and Brazilian units had lower profit margins as more customers signed up for long-term contracts that often come with discounted phones.

America Movil, controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, is shifting its prepaid phone users to contract plans to increase customers’ loyalty and encourage them to add more services, such as Internet access. Contract subscribers rose 20.5 percent in 2011, compared to 7.4 percent growth for all wireless users.

“Contract clients are more expensive, but they’re much more stable and productive,” said Martin Lara, an analyst at Corp. Actinver SAB in Mexico City. “There are many incentives to add postpaid clients.” He recommends buying the shares.

Fourth-quarter net income slid to 16.3 billion pesos ($1.3 billion) from 25.5 billion pesos a year earlier, America Movil said yesterday in a statement. A weaker peso and higher interest expenses boosted financing costs fourfold to 11.1 billion pesos, hurting profit. Sales rose 12 percent to 182 billion pesos, beating the 173 billion-peso average of analyst estimates.

Interest Expense

America Movil is paying more interest after borrowing to acquire fixed-line companies Telmex Internacional SAB and Telefonos de Mexico SAB in the past two years. Net debt rose 55 percent to 321 billion pesos from a year earlier. Cash flow should pay down that figure over time, Lara said.

The company changed its accounting for prepaid wireless subscribers to eliminate those who hadn’t added minutes to their account during “a determined period,” according to the filing. That eliminated 4.85 million clients from the company’s rolls.

Even with that elimination, America Movil had a net gain of 304,000 mobile subscribers, suggesting that excluding the purged clients, it added about 5.2 million during the quarter. That compared with the 5.83 million estimate of James Rivett, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in New York and with Lara’s 6.25 million estimate. America Movil ended the quarter with 242 million mobile-phone customers.

Profit margins in Mexico, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, fell to 48 percent from 51.3 percent a year earlier. Profit was hurt by a ruling last year by Mexico’s Federal Telecommunications Commission to cut the fees that America Movil could charge competitors to connect calls.

In Brazil, America Movil’s second-largest market behind Mexico, the operating margin fell to 22.8 percent from 24.7 percent. Brazil had the biggest net gain in the quarter among the 18 countries where America Movil operates, adding 2.9 million new subscribers.

The company’s shares rose 0.1 percent to 15.56 pesos yesterday in Mexico City before the results were announced. They have dropped 1.6 percent this year.

(America Movil plans to hold a conference call at 10 a.m. New York time. To listen, call +1-866-243-8959 from the U.S. or +1-703-639-1166 outside the U.S. and use the passcode 1566498.)

--Editors: John Lear, Stephen West

To contact the reporter on this story: Crayton Harrison in Mexico City at tharrison5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ville Heiskanen at vheiskanen@bloomberg.net

Read the original here:
America Movil Falls as Costs Squeeze Profit: Mexico City Mover

In between two pristinely kept homes in Ingram, Stanley Biolowas Jr. lived in a decaying two-story house filled with trash.

The windows in the rickety, grayish-brown facade were stuffed shut with orangish foam. Inside, debris crammed the home floor to ceiling and a pair of surveillance cameras stood sentry against thieves he feared would steal his possessions.

It was inside this home that the 90-year-old led a life of stubborn independence with no heat. And it was there in a room on the second floor that firefighters, wearing breathing masks to withstand the stench, found his body Feb. 1 after searching for four hours. He perished of heart disease, the medical examiner's office said, and had been dead for some time.

Neighbors said they sought help for the man, calling the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging at least once. One neighbor reported someone on the street had called the county health department, though the department has no record of a report being made.

"There's been multiple attempts by multiple neighbors to get him some help," said Lori Kownacki, a former veterinary technician who now stays home to care for her two sons. She said she called the county Area Agency on Aging to report his situation, but the call-taker told her there was nothing to be done. "If something had been done awhile ago, it wouldn't have ended this way."

The case, in some ways, illustrates the difficulties in intervening when an elderly person suffers from self-neglect, a problem that in Mr. Bialowas' case was compounded by pathological hoarding, said Don Grant, a case manager with the Agency on Aging. Records show that if someone called to report he needed help, there was no report taken. The agency's only contact with him was last month at a West End senior center.

"It upsets me. It could have been something that we could have looked at," he said. "Perhaps it was preventable, perhaps not."

Mr. Grant said some studies estimate that as many as one in 190 seniors are suffering from abuse, neglect or self-neglect. His agency alone investigates some 1,500 cases a year.

Geraldine Chenot, a licensed psychologist and registered nurse who contracts with the county, is one of those on the front lines of those investigations. Accompanied by a social worker, she determines if an elderly person has his or her "capacities."

Ms. Chenot said of the 30 to 50 cases she investigates a year, she sees about five to seven cases that involve hoarding, in which people collect stuff -- often valueless -- beyond reason, to the point that their homes become unlivable to most. For the worst cases, she has a term, "tunnelling," in which the only passageways around the homes are narrow spaces between mounds of stuff.

Though hoarding is not a diagnosis recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, it's often classified as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It's also one of the proposed additions to the next version of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

"It doesn't make sense to see it as anything but a psychological disorder," she said. "Nobody would choose to live this way."

She's encountered people who become agitated when she moves a pile of papers to free a space to write while she interviews them and people who save decades-old newspapers and phone books, saying there's an article or phone number they may need later. The problem bleeds into essential living spaces, "to the extent the bathroom can't be used as a bathroom."

"To us, it makes no sense. To them, it's all their possessions," she said.

In Mr. Biolowas' case, neighbors saw his situation go from bad to worse. Ms. Kownacki said she saw him sit in his car during winter months in an apparent effort to stay warm. But last year, his license was revoked after he twice struck parked cars, including one that belonged to a relative of Ms. Kownacki's. Unable to get gas, he could no longer use his car to warm himself.

She said he haphazardly bathed himself at a local Giant Eagle and a local Eat 'n Park.

She attempted to help him, offering to let him shower in her home and bringing him meals on occasion. When she did bring him food, she knew to knock and leave it on the front porch. He waited until she crossed the street to go outside and retrieve it.

Bill Gordon, who lives next door, said he was told by a real estate agent that Mr. Biolowas was fixing up his home, but over the years, it fell into worse disrepair. He did not see that Mr. Biolowas had trash pickup. Refuse appeared to stay in his home and pile up.

But Mr. Gordon said his neighbor seemed self-sufficient. He was in "OK" physical shape and he appeared to be mentally competent.

"It wasn't like he was out of sorts, per se," Mr. Gordon said.

In some cases, the Agency on Aging can compel intervention, forcing a person into a nursing home or mental hospital, by getting a court order. The agency can obtain an involuntary commitment order if the person is found to be mentally ill and hold the person while he receives psychological evaluation. In extreme cases, where the agency can show the person is at risk of dying within the next 24 hours, it can petition for emergency guardianship and force the person into a hospital.

Mr. Grant said that the standard for when the agency can intervene is set high. An elderly person can live without heat or water and in a home with deplorable conditions if he or she chooses as long as the person is demonstrated to be mentally competent.

But hoarding, in and of itself, is not a strong enough basis to compel someone to move from a home, said Ms. Chenot, a fact that is often frustrating to family trying to help elderly relatives.

Compulsive hoarders often admit they want help, Ms. Chenot said, but parting with their possessions is difficult. The county can offer house cleaners, home caretakers, meal delivery and grants to help older people get back their utilities if they've fallen behind on bills.

Sadly, Ms. Chenot said, "the vast majority will refuse those services."

"Do they understand that this is standing between them and a more comfortable life? They do intellectually, but emotionally they will not separate from that stuff," she said. I always feel really sad when I leave these homes ... you think, 'Oh God, if only they would let us help them.' "

Moriah Balingit: mbalingit@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2533.

First published on February 12, 2012 at 12:00 am

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Death in trash-filled home shows difficulty of aiding solitary seniors

The new 490,000-square-foot Kaiser Permanente Fontana Replacement Hospital is now 95 percent completed and is in the home stretch of final exterior and interior construction.

The hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2013, is being built by McCarthy Construction and is designed by HMC Architects.

The new hospital will be a cutting-edge acute care medical facility which will serve the Inland Empire with 314 beds and a 51-bed emergency department.

On the heels of the opening of Kaiser Permanente's Ontario Medical Center last fall, the Fontana Replacement Hospital will have similar patient-centric design features to create a healing environment for patients in which to heal in, Kaiser officials said.

Every patient room will be private with a window for natural sunlight, there will be a beautiful outdoor courtyard and patients will enjoy room service-style meal delivery, giving them the flexibility to order food when they are actually hungry.

Additionally, medical specialty services will include: Cardiac Surgery Services, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Inpatient Dialysis, Intensive Care Unit, Labor & Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, NICU level III, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Pediatrics and Surgery.

"The new Fontana Replacement Hospital will allow us to care for patients in a new environment which patients will find comforting and healing at a first-class, medical facility with the latest healthcare innovations and medical technologies," said David Quam, MD, area medical director for the Fontana & Ontario service area. "The Fontana Medical Center is a flagship provider of compassionate and quality healthcare to residents in the Inland Empire and is led by expert physicians and medical staff who are committed to providing the best care."

Looking ahead to 2013, one way that the new Fontana Replacement Hospital will celebrate its grand opening is with a commemorative historical look at its early humble beginnings, which started in the high desert as a prepaid health plan for Kaiser Steel employees and then moved in 1943 to the Kaiser Steel Corporation in Fontana. An historical book accounting the medical center's many milestones in patient care will be published when the new hospital opens.

"We will be celebrating 70 years of care to this community when the new

Fontana Medical Center opens in 2013," said Greg Christian, executive director for the Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers. "Fontana is really the birthplace of Kaiser Permanente's prepaid integrated care delivery system. Mr. Henry Kaiser's Health Care partnership with Dr. Sidney Garfield has led to the nation's largest Health Maintenance Organizations and a measured leader in quality, service, technology and innovation. We are excited and honored to keep this legacy moving and in a direction that provides on-going award-winning and affordable care."

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Construction of new Kaiser Permanente Fontana Replacement Hospital is 95 percent complete

Replacement window and door industry leader Soft-Lite LLC shares its 2012 plans to ensure continued success. Strategies include ongoing dealer support and a growing turnkey installation service.

Streetsboro, Ohio (PRWEB) February 09, 2012

After weathering a difficult 2011 that witnessed the struggles of many replacement window manufacturers, industry leader Soft-Lite LLC has 2012 plans in place to ensure the Ohio-based company’s continued success.

That success is focused on providing continual training and support, all in an effort to nurture the success of Soft-Lite’s dealers.

“Soft-Lite’s ability to remain a successful, debt-free manufacturer of replacement windows and doors depends on our dealers and distributors’ ability to sell, install and support our products,” Soft-Lite VP of Sales and Marketing, Greg Irving said.

The long-time manufacturer of replacement windows and doors offers a whole range of support for its dealers and distributors, including:

Soft-Lite also provides dealer support through its innovative, and growing, turnkey installation service. This program allows the company to capitalize on new geographic market areas where dealers may not have adequate infrastructure to manage the logistics of installing Soft-Lite’s numerous replacement window and door lines after the initial sale.

In the end, Soft-Lite’s most important contribution toward the success of its dealers and distributors is the company’s own ability to reinvest in its operations and still remain debt-free and stable, Anderson said.

“We’ve been careful to reinvest in research and development and to selectively allocate capital to planned expansions, technological improvements and product development,” Soft-Lite President, Roy Anderson said. “We will not accept being second best in any aspect of our business model, whether it's in manufacturing capability, product development or dealer support.”

Backed by 75+ years of experience, Soft-Lite offers a diverse product line, including fiberglass entry door systems, all welded storm doors, new woodgrain laminates, and a new sliding patio door line. Visit Soft-Lite’s website for more information on the Streetsboro-headquartered manufacturer of replacement windows and doors.

###

Greg Irving
Soft-Lite LLC
1-800-551-1953 1126
Email Information

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Ohio Maker of Replacement Windows Plans for 2012 Success

DECORAH, Iowa --- Luther College is pursuing a solar array that will reportedly be the largest in the state once complete.

Members of the City Council approved a site plan for the project this week following the recommendation of the Decorah Planning and Zoning Commission.

According to Diane Tacke, vice president for finance and administration at Luther, 1,250 solar panels will be installed on about 2 acres. The site is on the north side of Pole Line Road.

Decorah Solar Fields will build the project.

The property is zoned C-5 commercial, but the Decorah Board of Adjustment approved a special-use permit. Under the city's zoning ordinance, solar panels are only allowed on A-1 agricultural property.

Luther intends to lease the 280-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system from Decorah Solar Fields for seven years. After that, the college hopes to buy the installation.

Tacke said the solar array will be able to provide electricity used by Baker Village, not including the commons area. Baker Village is an all-electric facility using geothermal energy for heating and cooling.

Larry Grimstad, owner of Decorah Solar Fields, said the panels will be fixed, meaning they will not track the sun.

Alliant Energy will connect the solar field to Baker Village with a half-mile underground transmission line.

The system could be operational by June 1.

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Luther College to install solar panels on 2 acres