Photovoltage

On May 17, 2008, Northwoods officially joined the solar power community. Twenty-five students from across the United States and Canada participated in a six day, hands-on workshop lead by E.H.Roy of NexGen Energy Systems and David Palumbo of Independent Power. The course culminated with the installation of a 1,440 kW grid-tied solar array at the Center. This array, funded in part by a grant from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust, will offset up to 15% of our total energy demand (with efficiency measures reducing our demand by an additional 30%). During the summer, the panels are raised to a 45 degree angle, while during the winter they will be oriented vertically (to shed our frequent snow and gain the reflection of sunlight from the snow). Power from the array is available first to our facility, with excess electricity going back to the grid and being credited to our monthly power bill. Already, we've seen the power meter running backwards on a few sunny days - though even more surprising is the power produced under full cloud cover. The future is definitely a little bit brighter with solar power as part of the solution....