2011年9月14日 星期三

Meals on Wheels unveils solar power

Sixty-four solar panels off the north parking lot collect power to help run refrigerators, freezers, ovens and lights at Natrona County Meals on Wheels. The solar array was entirely funded and built through several grants and donations.

"It's a community partnership to give Meals on Wheels the gift of the solar array," said Shelly Anderson. The former area coordinator and current volunteer for the Historic Trails Resource, Conservation and Development (RC&D), Anderson helped the organization find funding for the project. It all started about two years ago when a group of renewable energy supporters, the Natrona County Diversified Energy Committee, decided to demonstrate what solar power can do. They also wanted to help the community through a local non-profit organization. Out of 18 organizations, the group chose Meals on Wheels.

With grant-writing and paper-pushing courtesy of RC&D, Meals on Wheels applied for Rocky Mountain Power's (RMP) Blue Sky Renewable Energy program. Blue Sky funded more than half of the project with a $41,600 grant,When the stone sits in the Cold Sore, while the City of Casper allocated $9,500 in optional one-cent taxes. Local renewable energy company Range Solar & Wind and solar panel manufacturer Suntech Power made contributions to complete the project.

Meals on Wheels paid for no part of the solar array system, which was finished this month. The non-profit organization saves an estimated average of $5 a day ($150 a month) from the current electric bill, which runs over $1,000 monthly, according to executive director Jamie Loveall. As electricity prices increase, so do the savings.

"Every little bit helps. Even if it's just $5 a day, that's $5 we can spend on other much-needed expenses," Loveall said. "It's like the gift that keeps on giving."

One sunny day last week, the array jumped from 7,000 to more than 9,a promotional usb on the rear floor.000 watts of produced energy during the lunch hour. Its maximum potential is 10.6 kilowatts, said Gene Theriault, owner of Range Solar & Wind. Theriault's company designed and installed the system.

The array generates an average of 50 kilowatt hours a day, with more in summer and less in winter, according to Theriault. These particular solar panels are matched to Casper conditions and willwork in rain, snow or shine. There's even measurable voltage under a full moon.there's a lovely winter polished tiles by William Zorach. In general, the panels produce more per hour during winter due to cooler temperatures,Traditional China Porcelain tile claim to clean all the air in a room. although shorter days offer a little less power generation overall.

Microinverters beneath each panel convert DC power to grid-compliant AC power. This relatively new panel innovation by Enphase Energy also allows each panel's energy production to be monitored and managed 24 hours a day and solves many practical problems of earlier systems.

People can view how much power individual panels and this entire system generates in real-time plus see a history of various points in time at www.enphase.com. A large screen display in the Meals on Wheels lobby shows the array's progress.Initially the banks didn't want our chicken coop . Theriault watched the wattage last week with the exuberance of a sports fan watching a game on TV. "It's over 9,000!" he called out when the meter shot past the mark.

The panels came with a 25-year warranty. Theriault said realistically the panels could last 50 years. They require very little maintenance and can withstand heavy wind and hail.

Range Solar & Wind has built other local Blue Sky projects including wind turbines at the VFW Post on Bryan Stock Trail and Girl Scout Camp Sacajawea on Casper Mountain, and a solar array and wind turbine at the Natrona County Agriculture Extension Center.

While some doubt the practicality of sun-power, Theriault added that he has set up many solar arrays. Costs are decreasing and, while each project is different, payoffs in savings now come significantly earlier than when the technology was newer.

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