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Leon's Beauty School in Greensboro took its environmental efforts to the next level this week by installing a solar hot water system; it plans to add photovoltaics for electricity in the next couple months. I wrote about the company's previous efforts to go green in April.

I stopped by the school this morning to check out the work being done. Extend Energy in Greensboro installed three panels and a 120-gallon water tank that will take care of most of the building's needs. Travis Simpson, the company's chief executive officer, said he will return in late August or September to oversee the installation of 170 photovoltaic panels that will generate about 140 kilowatt hours of electricity each day. One of the workers helping to install the panels was Adrian Wright, a department chair of industrial systems at GTCC. This assignment provided on-the-ground training for Wright who is helping to implement a green technologies program at the college.

"I will have complete south-facing sun between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. every single day," said owner Parker Washburn. "With all the tax credits this year it just made sense."

Washburn estimated that both solar systems will pay for themselves in five years. She will cut down one leaning tree and trim four others to optimize the sun exposure.

Washburn said she was embarrassed of her industry's poor environmental record; she bemoaned Leon's "65 years of trash" as she reflected on how much plastic and other garbage was sent to landfills over the years. That era of Leon's is over: I walked into a break area and saw an empty gray trash can sitting next to a full recycling bin. 

"I spent three quarters of my life screwing up the environment," Washburn said. "I figured I'd spend the last quarter helping it."