Williamstown High School
Location
Williamstown, WV
Commission Date
2018
System Size
132 kWDC | 386 modules
Energy Production
Equivalent to powering an average home for 13.5 years
Avg. Annual Energy Offset
13%
Commissioned in the summer of 2018, this was the largest solar system in the area at the time of its installation. The system uses 386 solar panels to generate 132 kW of power. This DC power is fed into inverters, which blend the solar power in with the rest of the power that the building gets from the power company. The solar system will provide about 13% of the total power that the building uses in an average year.
This system will produce approximately 150,000 kWH of power in an average year. Because the region uses coal to produce 94% of its power, the power produced by this solar array will avoid the emission of 155 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year. This is the equivalent of the annual carbon dioxide output of 30 cars. As you know, trees take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it to oxygen through the photosynthesis process. You would need to have 128 acres of trees to absorb the amount of CO2 that will be avoided by this project.
This system was designed with help by high school students participating in the Energy and Power Program at Caperton Center for Applied Technology at WVU Parkersburg. These students worked on the roof layout and economic model for the system, in addition to working on a demonstration solar project at Edison Junior High School in South Parkersburg.
Project Partners
-
Community Bank
Parkersburg, WV
Project financing -
Third Sun Solar
Athens, OH
Design and procurement -
Pro 1 Electric
Parkersburg, WV
Electrical and solar construction