Solar Panels are Up and Running Except for being covered by 8 inches of snow, our solar panels are up and generating electricity. You can check out what they produce by visiting this web site: wattmetrics or clicking on the link on the web site. Book mark this site so you can return often to see how the amount varies with the season and the weather. Snow will be a factor for producing electricity in the winter. Our panels were installed low to the ground to keep them from catching the wind. They are also set at an angle of 10 degrees, which is the best angle for collecting the rays through out the year. This does mean that they may spend sometime under snow cover but it has been decided not to brush the panels off due to concern about walking on the roof when the roof membrane is frozen. Depending on the winter and the weather, in actuality, we will not lose many significant generating opportunities. This would not have been possible without the enormous efforts of Jim McCracken our Place-Based Educator. Many other thanks go to Fred Tougas, Suncatcher Renewable Energy Systems and River Bend Electrical classes and their teacher Bob Reardon for completing the installation. Many other people were responsible for making this grant a reality. BES would like to thank; Laurie Storm, Doug Kussius, Rowe Williams, Bob Reardon, Skip Barrett, Steve Tofel and Reknew Energy Systems or their help with writing and editing the grant, Nancy Jones, Kevin Lawrence, and Sarah Copeland Hanzas for their letters of support ; Bernie Sanders and the Vermont Department of Education for establishing this opportunity. |
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Solar Panels at BES |