PRUDENCE ISLAND — The south end Research Reserve on Prudence Island is among nine locations statewide that will use the power of the sun to reduce electric costs.
The state Department of Environmental Management announced last week that $1.5 million in federal stimulus funds have been earmarked for solar power projects on DEM properties. Installation will begin immediately.
On Prudence, a single, pole-mounted solar panel array will be installed at the Research Reserve, and should generate over 3,700 kWh of electricity each year. It is estimated that the solar system will save the research reserve $500 per year.
Students involved in educational programs at the Prudence Island Research Reserve will learn about sustainable energy created by solar panels and other renewable sources as part of the facility’s teaching curricula.
Solar panels in most of the state installatons will be mounted on existing roofs. Every installation will include new inverters to convert the electricity from direct current produced by the panels to alternating current used by the building. All the installations will be tied to the electric grid and will include meters to count the amount of electricity that is being made, so that the state’s electric bill can be reduced accordingly.
“These solar arrays illustrate how properly-sized renewable energy projects can work at a wide range of publicly-owned sites,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “The technology is proven and will result in lower electrical bills for the state for many years to come.”
The Prudence project is the only one on this side of the state.
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