Worcester County Recreation Center Ground Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Project

Worcester County RC

Overview

As part of an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), the 58.32 kW Worcester County Recreation Center solar system was funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to reduce the operating costs of county facilities. Centrally located in Snow Hill Maryland, the Recreation Center provides children and adults with a multitude of fitness and sports opportunities. The ground mounted solar array is constructed behind the Recreation Center facility and is electrically interconnected via net-metering.

Engineering

Being constructed within a dedicated open space area, the solar system design required addition considerations to reduce site impacts and preserve the meadow setting. To meet the county’s goals, the solar system was engineered with the Schletter FS driven post mounting system, eliminating the need for concrete support footers. Designed for maximum efficiency and energy yield, the solar system utilizes twelve individual SMA inverters providing a more granular maximum power point tracking architecture with less central points of failure.

In order to integrate with the existing diesel backup generator present within the Recreation Center, the solar system was specially engineered to operate without the Recreation Center losing any functionality of their existing system. Additionally, the Recreation Center can perform full load tests of their backup generator equipment, while the solar system will remain online sending all electricity generation to the utility grid for credit.

The “Buy American” compliant project features (216) Suntech solar modules and (12) SMA Sunny Boy inverters. The solar system was officially commissioned in April of 2012.

Benefits

Designed for maximum yield and optimum use of the limited area available, the Worcester County Recreation Center solar project reduces the operational costs of the county operated facility. Over a thirty year life, the solar system is expected to produce over 2.1 million kWh of electricity and provide the facility with over 15% of its electricity needs. Additionally, both the county and citizens can closely track the systems performance through a public web-based monitoring system.

Note: The Worcester County Recreation Center solar project was designed and constructed by Flexera, Inc. under the direction of Mr. Manlove during his tenure with the company. Mr. Manlove is the Professional Engineer of record for the project.

Information

Technology:
Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
Sector:
Government
Utility:
Delmarva Power & Light
Interconnection Tariff:
Net-Metering
Interconnection Method:
Grid-Tied
City: Snow Hill, MD
County: Worcester

Design

Size (kWdc): 58.230
Modules:
(216) Suntech
STP270-24/Vd-USA
Inverters:
(12) SMA SB5000US
Monitoring:
SMA Sunny WebBox
SMA Sunny Portal
Mounting:
Schletter FS Driven Post

Generation

Monthly kWh Production:
6,255
Annual kWh Production:
75,058
30 Year kWh Production:
2,125,886
Annual CO2 Offset (lbs.):
114,105
30 Year CO2 Offset (lbs.):
3,231,810