Community Solar at Jefferson Park

March 21st marked the first day of Spring and the inauguration of Seattle City Light’s first Community Solar project, located at Beacon Hill’s Jefferson Park. The installation consists of three stand-alone solar picnic shelters, using a total of 120 Silicon Energy (SiE) 195 watt Cascade Series modules and four SiE5300 inverters. The arrays are configured to have two strings of 15 modules per inverter. The two smaller shelters located next to the community center consist of 30 modules (6 rows of 5) with a 5.85kW DC power rating each, and the large shelter to the north consists of 60 modules (6 rows of 10) with an 11.7 kW DC rating. The base structure is made of intentionally rusted 6x6 steel columns, beams and rafters. The system was installed by Artisan Electric, Inc.

Rather than attaching solar panels to a preexisting roof, Seattle City Light (SCL) designed the shelters to be dual functioning, using the modules themselves as the roof structures. Most solar modules are structurally weak and unsuitable to be used as a roofing material. However, the Silicon Energy modules use glass on both sides of the solar cells, forming structurally robust frameless “tiles” that allow light to penetrate around the edges of the cells. Between the overlapping modules, gaskets were attached to block rain blowback from prevailing winds. The picnic shelters were not designed to be waterproof, however, and some leakage around the bedrails or “mounting feet” is expected. If desired, this type of shelter could be more rain tight by installing vertical gutters sandwiched between the mounting feet and steel rafters, diverting all water shed by the shelters into the existing attached gutter at the bottom of the array.

The new SiE5300 inverters are single phase by default and needed to be reconfigured to 208V without a neutral in order to backfeed into the preexisting three-phase SCL service at the park. Custom service cabinets were built by Skyline Electric, located in downtown Seattle, in order to accommodate the ventilation needs of the inverters while protecting the equipment from vandalism (or stray condiments).

Unlike most community solar projects in the state, the Jefferson Park shelters are highly visible and meant to be an integral part of everyday park usage. Jefferson Park users have sought covered picnic areas for more than a decade, but tight budgets had kept the Seattle Parks Department from providing them until now. The Community Solar project was developed with the help of a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. City Light customers can purchase units of the array for $600 each, which in turn cuts down on their monthly utility bill. According to Seattle City Light, most of the 500 units having already been sold, which will create a rotating fund for the utility’s next solar projects in the near future.

“I’m very happy to be a part of this program,” said Robert Hinrix of Beacon Hill, one of the project’s founding members. “I’ve been a longtime supporter of alternative energy, going back 30 years almost. This is a way I can put my money where my beliefs are and make something happen. I encourage all of my neighbors and fellow citizens of Seattle to consider it.”

COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECT TO BE PLACE AT THE HARBOR SCHOOL, VASHON

Here's an article that came out yesterday about the community solar project we will be installing next month here on 
Vashon, WA. I'm not sure how accurate my statement is about finding investors, but hopefully people are interested in supporting this effort.


URL: http://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/138000353.html


By LESLIE BROWN 
Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Editor 
JANUARY 24, 2012 · UPDATED 2:47 PM 

Vashon Solar LLC is poised to install the Island’s first community solar project, an array that will be perched next to The Harbor School and could eventually kick out enough power to heat three houses.

Evan Leonard, solar project manager at Artisan Electric and a board member for Vashon Solar LLC, said the group is thrilled to have found a spot for the array, which will be installed in two phases this winter and spring.

“It’s wonderful,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming and a lot of hard work.”

The group, led by Vashon architect Gib Dammann, has been searching for months for a site for a community-based system, racing to get a project installed so as to take full advantage of generous state incentives slated to end in 2020. Another group, Vashon Community Solar, a project spearheaded by The Backbone Campaign, is also working to develop a site.

Leonard said the site at The Harbor School is ideal. The array will be situated on the ground on the south side of the building, where on a sunny day it would have 98 percent sun exposure — meaning that “from sun up to sun down 98 percent of the time the sun is hitting that surface,” Leonard said.

“That’s pretty rare. We’ve got a lot of trees on Vashon,” he said.

The project will be funded by Islanders investing $5,000 to $35,000 each, Leonard said. The group expects to have about 20 investors, ponying up a total of $250,000.

A federal tax credit gives each investor a 30 percent construction refund for various green energy projects, meaning that an investor who provides $5,000 toward the project can reduce his or her tax bill by $1,500.

The state Legislature, meanwhile, sweetened the pot with a bill it passed two years ago in an effort to stimulate a solar panel manufacturing industry: For every kilowatt hour produced by a system manufactured in the state and placed at a public building, the entity that created the project receives $1.08 — or 10 times the market value of the electricity — to be divvied up among its investors.

The Harbor School is private but its building and land are owned by the Vashon Island School District. The array will benefit the private school, not the district, Leonard said. But when the school’s lease is up, “It’ll be a good leverage point for the district,” he said.

Finding investors won’t be a problem, he added. “Already several people have shown a high level of interest,” he said.

Solarize Vashon Begins this Weekend!

Solarize Vashon!

Vashon Island is Seattle's newest community to solarize with the group purchase program! 

Solarize Vashon Kickoff

Saturday Aug. 13^th 10am-2pm  

Vashon Farmer's Market

Enrollment Workshop

Sunday, August 14^th 1-3 pm

Vashon College, Sheffield Building

18850 103^rd Ave. SW

What is Solarize Vashon?

A group purchasing program for Vashon-Maury Island residents resulting in significant savings on solar photovoltaic (PV) installations.

Who qualifies?

This program is available to PSE customers on Vashon-Maury Island.

How much money can I save with a group purchase? 

Solar installations typically cost $4,200 - $7,000 / kilowatt (kW) after the 30% federal income tax credit. 

Artisan Electric, Inc. will offer an additional $400 - $600/kW rebate per customer depending upon the total number of kilowatts installed through the program. 

Rebate levels:

1 kW – 40 kW installed = $400/kW

41 kW – 70kW installed = $500/kW

71+ kW installed = $600/kW

Maximum rebate amount $3,000 per customer.   

When can I get solar on my house or business through Solarize Vashon?

Installations will occur in the Fall-Winter of 2011.  

Be sure to enroll by October 1, 2011 to qualify for Solarize Vashon!  

Want to learn more? 

Attend one of our enrollment workshops, visit our website at artisanelectricinc.com, or call us at 206-463-3111.