On the morning of April 26, U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) was on hand to cut the cord and dedicate DataScan Technologies’ new 202-kilowatt photovoltaic rooftop array, the largest rooftop array in the state. The array was made possible partly through Georgia’s tax credits, which were renewed in waning hours of the state’s legislative session.

“DataScan’s solar array is an important example of what we can do to help achieve greater American energy production and an outstanding illustration of public-private collaboration. The proliferation of innovative energy technologies must be part of an all-of-the-above strategy to make America more competitive and prosperous in the future,” Rep. Price said in a press release.

DataScan, a wholesale finance accounting and risk management systems and services company and subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, Inc., installed Solyndra modules on its data center’s rooftop in Alpharetta, Ga. The array will provide between 30 percent and 50 percent of the center’s daily electric needs, said DataScan Vice President Brent Sergot.

“We’re actually set up to be able to push power back to the gird if we ever exceed our needs,” he said.

But the company expects to use all the power generated onsite.

“Our spend on the system was roughly $2 million. The anticipated return on investment is expected to be 7.5 years,” Sergot said.

The company has been pursuing clean energy in other areas as well, including reconfiguring lighting, using virtual servers that need less electricity to run and recycling initiatives, he said. The solar was a continuation of all that.

“We did this to support our broader mission of becoming a more environmentally friendly company,” Sergot said. “In addition to the solar panels, we have a goal in 2011 of reducing our energy utilization by 10 percent.”

The company was able to purchase and install the system because of incentives offered by the federal government and by Georgia, according to Sergot.

The 35 percent tax credit offered for such systems was in peril, as a long line of companies had already signed up for the credit, was set to expire this year and was limited to $2.5 million of spending.

However, Georgia H.B. 346 extended that through 2014 and provided $10 million in funding.

“This stuff couldn’t be done without the support of the legislature,” he said. “In order to help businesses adopt solar, there must be some help.”

He said that the legislation received bipartisan support when it was pushed through.