Adams solar panel project working well

A ground-mounted photovoltaic system, located behind the cooperative’s corporate office in Gettysburg, has been generating power back to the regional electricity grid since early October 2010. Besides generating electricity, the project showcases net metering, and serves as an educational display.

The 45-kilowatt (kw) system will also provide power to the headquarters building during periods when the demand for power on the grid is the greatest, specifically during the hottest afternoons during the summer. Expected to generate about 54,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) each year, the system was sized to carry the cooling load from the co-op’s corporate office during those hot afternoons. Through the co-op’s load control program, Adams Electric can drop up to 10 percent of its load during peak periods of demand for energy. The co-op will be saving about 35 percent annually on its electric power bill with the activation of the photovoltaic system. In the past, the headquarters building relied on a natural gas generator to reduce its peak load prior to the construction of the solar project.

“The solar generation project is part of our overall energy conservation plan,” says Steve Rasmussen, CEO/General Manager for Adams Electric. “In addition, we use an ice storage system to minimize our energy use during summer peaks, and we recently upgraded to more efficient lighting in our buildings.”

In December of 2009, the cooperative received a state grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority, investing $84,240 in the proposed system, making the project more economical. The balance of the approximately $250,000 project was secured with financing through the Rural Utility Services of the United States Department of Agriculture.

A design and build contract was signed in May 2010, with contractor Garden Spot Electric of Manheim, Pa. and partners Parente Beard and I Need Solar, both of Mechanicsburg, Pa. for the commercial-grade system. Ground was broken in July and power began flowing through the system on Oct. 8.

The panels’ energy production can be monitored online, in real time, through an “energy dashboard” visible through a link on the co-op’s website, www.adamsec.coop.

In addition, the co-op currently has 44 residential members who are using alternative energy sources, most of which are solar panel systems. Together, the renewable energy sources create about 285 kw of generation.

PLUGGED IN: On Oct. 8, 2010, Adams Electric directors symbolically plugged in a new 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system located behind the co-op’s headquarters building in Gettysburg. The photo includes, center, holding the plug: Board President Jay Grove of Shippensburg, left, and CEO/General Manager Steve Rasmussen. They are surrounded by board members, from left: Judy Queitzsch of New Freedom, Tom Harbaugh of East Berlin, Vice President Glenn Bange of Hanover, Bill Myers of Glennville, F. L. “Ray” Schwartz of Fairfield, Secretary Gene Herritt of Shippensburg, Treasurer Tom Knaub of Wellsville, and Dan Eisenhart of Newville.