Lamb Energy, Bethel Heights Vineyard Install Solar Power Systems, SAS Adds Second Solar Farm

by | Oct 12, 2010

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While Lamb Energy has added a solar roof array to its headquarters in California, and Oregon’s Bethel Heights Vineyard has installed a solar-electric system, SAS has added a second solar farm at the company’s N.C. headquarters campus.

Solar energy solutions provider Lamb Energy has installed a solar roof array using panels from Sharp at the company’s headquarters in Riverside, California. The 17.5-kW system will power about 60 percent of the building’s annual energy consumption, and prevent the emission of about 19.5 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

Lamb Energy installed 81 Sharp ND-216UC1 216 watt polycrystalline modules in a roof mounted system. These modules are designed to withstand harsh operating conditions and offers high-power output per square foot of solar array, according to the company.

Lamb saved more than $44,000 on the solar installation through the Riverside Public Utilities $3 per watt solar rebate program.

In Salem, Oregon, Bethel Heights Vineyard has installed a 61-kW solar-electric system. The solar installation, which includes 260 SolarWorld solar panels, will supply approximately forty percent of the electrical energy needs for the combined winery and vineyard operations. The solar power system, installed by Solar Nation, is expected to prevent 1,189 tons of CO2 emissions over its 25-year warranted life.

On the other side of the country, business analytics and software and services provider SAS has completed the installation of its second solar farm on the company’s Cary, N.C. headquarters campus in partnership with groSolar and FLS Energy. The new solar farm has a 1.2 megawatt capacity and will produce an estimated 1.9 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) each year.

Situated near the original solar farm system, SAS Solar Farm 2 consists of 5,236 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels, covering approximately 7 acres. The system incorporates a Ray Tracker tracking system that rotates the assembly for maximum sun exposure. This increases energy capture by up to 25 percent over fixed systems and also significantly reduced the acreage requirements for construction, says SAS.

Progress Energy is purchasing electricity generated from the SAS solar farm.

SAS Solar Farm 1 generates about 1.7 million kilowatt-hours annually. Together, the two systems will produce enough energy to power more than 325 average-size homes, and avoid more than 3,500 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions from conventionally produced electricity.

The Cary campus also has solar thermal hot water systems, regenerative drive elevators, water and waste conservation projects, and two new soon-to-be-completed buildings that are designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification.

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