(USA) Perdue Farms has teamed up with Standard Solar Inc. and Washington Gas Energy Services to construct one of the largest commercial solar systems on the East Coast. Phase 1 of construction is complete – a massive 6,720 panel solar farm at Perdue’s feed mill in Bridgeville – and Phase 2 is under way at Perdue’s corporate offices in Salisbury.
Once completed, a total of 11,000 solar panels will be installed. When operating at maximum capacity, the panels will produce up to 90 percent of the energy required by both sites.
WGES owns the panels and sells the energy to Perdue, and Standard Solar was contracted to build the panels.
“For years, solar energy was the stuff dreams were made of,” said Steve Schwalb, Perdue’s vice president of environmental sustainability. “They were good for science projects, but really not practical for large-scale energy production. That’s changed.”
Delaware Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin O’Mara and state Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Kee were on hand at the feed mill for Monday’s announcement.
“One of the things that I think Delaware gets right is a partnership that allows productive agriculture to be profitable, productive and sustainable,” Coons said.
The policy that made the solar farm possible is the state’s expanded net-metering legislation, which was enacted last summer and allows renewable energy consumers to sell back excess energy to the grid or use the energy for rollover credit into the next pay period.
O’Mara praised the solar farm as the net-metering legislation in action.
“In these tough economic times, the one thing Delaware does well is coming together to get things done,” he said. “This one little thing didn’t cost the taxpayers anything, but it made the economics that much better.”
The Bridgeville solar farm covers 360,000 square feet — more than seven football fields — and will produce 1.6 megawatts of power at capacity. The Salisbury phase of the project is expected to be completed this October.
Source: Delmarva Now
