Shepard Steel, a structural steel and miscellaneous metals company serving the Greater Hartford, Connecticut, region since 1956, has announced that a 611-kW solar energy system installed on its headquarters went live in July and has exceeded production estimates in the months since.
In the first three months of operation, the 1,674-panel solar energy system generated approximately 200 MWh of electricity, enough to power the company’s operations into the winter.
Shepard Steel’s headquarters is a one-story, 100,000-sq.-ft building. The manufacturer partnered with Solect Energy and Eversource to install the panels on an area covering 80,000 sq. ft of the roof.
The solar system is monitored 24/7 by Solect, which uses a cloud-based monitoring platform to measure the system’s output in real-time, ensuring it operates at maximum capacity. Solect’s monitoring also provides historical data and projections on future production that take into account regional weather patterns.
“Shepard Steel tries to innovate continuously in ways that benefit our company and the surrounding community. Solar meets that goal and then some. Our new solar array is already delivering greater than expected savings to our energy-intensive operation, and the green, clean energy it produces has reduced our carbon footprint considerably,” said Keith F. Wolf, Shepard Steel VP and CFO. “Since commissioning the solar system we have produced all our structural steel components using solar energy. Where project owners, construction managers or design teams are dedicated to green building, Shepard Steel brings another level of clean energy to further their mission.”
“Smart businesses like Shepard Steel understand how solar reduces their tax liability, reduces overhead, and improves cash flow, all of which improve the bottom line. We commend Shepard Steel for its decision to install a solar energy system that benefits not only the company, but the community and society at large,” said Solect Energy CEO Ken Driscoll.
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Easebuzz says
“Steel is required by each of these markets. Without steel, none of the renewable energy sources would be possible. Every renewable energy structure – a wind turbine, a solar panel – requires steel.”
Ram Yadav says
The world’s crude steel production surpassed 1.808 million metric tonnes in 2018, up from 79 million metric tonnes than the previous year, marking an increase of 4.3%.
Andreas Schmid says
@solarman… Solect Energy also installs storage systems. We are delivering solar + storage to many companies and institutions in our service territory, which does exactly what you’ve described. Thanks for the insightful comment!
Solarman says
” Our new solar array is already delivering greater than expected savings to our energy-intensive operation, and the green, clean energy it produces has reduced our carbon footprint considerably,” said Keith F. Wolf, Shepard Steel VP and CFO. “Since commissioning the solar system we have produced all our structural steel components using solar energy.”
Sooner or later they may want to bring online another “shift” where energy storage could be leveraged to further reduce overhead costs of electricity these manufacturing plants use. Depending on technology and throughput some of these manufacturing facilities are looking at monthly electric bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. Wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of demand charges, rate spiking by being able to power one’s operation with onsite generation, month after month.