Cleaning Product Company Builds Solar Grid in Warner Robins | News

People in Warner Robins now have a new option for buying green power.

It's solar energy, and it's being produced at the local cleaning chemical factory, located off Russell Parkway.

120 workers bustled about the factory floor of the Clean Control Corporation on Tuesday.

They were bottling OdoBan. It is an industrial strength cleaning solution, owner Steve Davison first mixed in his bath tub.

Davison said, "That's why they call me a bath tub chemist."

His science experiment grew into a 140,000 square foot facility. They now sell the product at Wal-Mart and on Home Depot shelves.

Davison says the business is thriving. They're also hiring in a down economy.

He had the capital to help build a solar energy grid on his factory's property.

It is capable of powering 24 homes for a year, Davison said. "You or anybody can buy, you pay a premium for it, but you can buy green power."

Unlike OdoBan, the idea for the solar power grid was not his own.

Flint Energies came calling last spring, saying if he helped pay to built it, they would buy its power.

Davison said, "I sell it back to Flint. Flint puts it on the energy grid as green power."

Davison invested $700,000. A private solar company, First Century Energy, paid for the rest.

Federal and state funds designated for green energy initiatives pay him back. Davison said, "I'm going to get my money back in the next 45 days."

In ten years, Davison gets to keep the power the grid produces, flipping the switch to fuel production of his own products at Clean Control.

He said, "It's the sun. You make electricity from the sun. Sun's free."

This isn't Davison's first experiment with solar power. He has his own grid at his Perry home.

Jimmy Autry with Flint Energies says their customers can buy green power for $4 more a month on their bill. $4 pays for a block of 150 kilowatt hours.