An innovative Vermont-made solar tracker is now helping to power the Middle School of the Kennebunks in southern Maine.
The 6 kW solar system will help offset the electrical bills of Kennebunks public middle school, a school made up of grades 6-8 with over 400 students, faculty, and staff.
Science teachers will be able to access real time information online tracking power produced that can be incorporated into existing curriculum.
The Maine school first went solar 5 years ago with a small solar array located by the entrance to the gym. The 5.5 kW system was damaged during the winter of 2015. Naoto Inoue, owner of Solar Market, the installer of the new system, and Jeff Rodman, principal of MSK, decided a solar tracking system would better fit the needs of the school.
The project utilized an American-made AllEarth Solar Tracker, which tracks the sun throughout the day to maximize energy production. The ground-mounted pre-engineered solar trackers are designed for residential and commercial-scale installations and are manufactured nearby in Williston, Vt. by AllEarth Renewables.
AllEarth Solar Trackers produce over 30 percent more energy than fix ground-mounted systems and 45 percent more energy than rooftop systems per kilowatt installed.
The project was installed by Solar Market & Talmage Solar Engineering, Maine’s oldest solar company, located in Arundel, Me.
“We enjoy working locally with schools like the Middle School of Kennebunks to supply long-term solar energy and educational opportunities for students. It is icing on the cake to be supplying an innovative, New England-made solar tracker for this project, a solar solution that will produce more energy from the sun and give the school greater energy benefits,” said Inoue, owner of Solar Market & grandparent of an MSK student.
“We are thrilled about this school project for the Kennebunks school, which will provide clean energy to the facility as well as educate a new generation of solar leaders,” added David Blittersdorf, president and CEO of AllEarth Renewables. “We commend Solar Market on this exciting project.”
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