FINDLAY, OHIO – August 10, 2016 – Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative announced today it is breaking ground Friday, August 19, at 2 p.m., on its OurSolar community solar array as a green-energy option for its nearly 11,000 residential member owners. Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives leadership, elected officials, media representatives and the community are invited to attend.
OurSolar will contain a photovoltaic array of 300 panels to be constructed at the northwest corner of U.S. Route 224 and Township Road 215, just east of Findlay. Each panel is three-feet wide by six-and-one-half feet long and will be set in rack in a fixed position facing the southern sky. The photovoltaic panes are expected to generate approximately100 kilowatts.
Hancock-Wood President and CEO George Walton said, “It’s a win-win for our members who are interested in increasing the percentage of their power that comes from renewable sources. They can subscribe to one or more solar panels and increase their ‘green ratio’ while avoiding the inconvenience and high cost of installing panels on their homes or property.”
The solar array is funded through Hancock-Wood’s statewide association Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives, and maintained
by Hancock-Wood. The two-thirds-acre solar station is expected to be in service sometime in late summer or early fall, according to Walton.
“The OurSolar array could be expanded in the future to generate several megawatts and may be open to business-member subscribers at some point,” Walton added.
There are no upfront costs associated with subscribing to OurSolar; instead, the energy purchased at less than $2 per panel per month will reflect the costs incurred by installation and maintenance of the solar station. The co-op elicited more than 200 requests for more information from a recent OurSolar survey it circulated among members. Many questions centered
on the efficiency of solar panels in northwest Ohio.
“There is a common misconception that solar stations are not practical in Ohio; however, generation does not vary appreciably from the Dakotas down to Texas because extremely warm temperatures actually reduce the efficiency of the panels,” said Ryan Goolsby, Hancock-Wood distribution engineer and member of the statewide OurSolar launch committee.
The OurSolar station is one of several being offered by Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives, but does not represent the only renewable energy for electric co-op distribution. Ohio electric co-ops receive 4.45 megawatts MW from four anaerobic digesters at Ohio dairy, pork and poultry operations, 3.2 MW from the Hancock County Landfill methane gas generation facility we helped engineer, and 6.4 MW from Suburban Regional Landfill. Hancock-Wood is part of a 55-MW hydroelectric power entitlement from the New York Power Authority, the largest state-owned power organization in the U.S. This power
is primarily generated from the Niagara (90 percent) and St. Lawrence rivers.
Hancock-Wood and Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives are finalizing the details of the solar station. To learn more about subscribing, visit https://www.hwe.coop/residential/oursolar-community-solar-project/ call 800-445-4840 or email the co-op at [email protected]
Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, established April 20, 1938, serves portions of Hancock, Wood, Allen, Erie, Hardin, Henry, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca and Wyandot counties. Throughout the cooperative’s history, Hancock-Wood has delivered affordable reliable electric service and supported worthy causes through charitable contributions, volunteerism
and other activities to make a positive impact on quality of life within the communities it serves.
For more information about Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative, visit www.hwe.coop or call 800-445-4840.
