The Logan Township United Fire Department, located on Grandview Road, has installed a solar array on the roof of the station. This, with the help of rebates and debt reduction grants from the state, would be enough to cover the building’s electricity needs and pay for itself within about six years.
The roof cost $119,000, but United borrowed all but $5,000 from a local bank and covered the rest with capital reserves, board president Jeff Blake said.
The 129-panel system, installed by Altoona’s Groundhog Solar, can generate 61,000 kilowatt-hours a year, enough to cover the plant’s demand, Blake said, and generate excess power to feed into the grid. They say they can sell it.
Blake said the panels are attached to an assembly on the south-facing side of the gable-roofed station that is clamped to a standing seam in the metal roof.
Roof-mounting the panels is more aesthetically pleasing than ground-mounted arrays and helps protect the panels from damage, Blake said.
Blake said 30 percent of the array’s cost should be covered by federal rebates, but annual fire aid grants from the Pennsylvania Fire Marshal’s Office could be used to reduce debt service.
Blake said the region is approaching the least productive time of year for solar power generation, but with the sun lower in the sky and fewer hours of daylight, the arrays are still generating less power. It is said that he is going there.
On a recent sunny morning, the power generation was 21.9 kWh, of which 18.5 kWh was being sent to the grid, Blake said.
He said the array will still generate a small amount of electricity even on cloudy days.
He said grid consumption was reduced by 50-60% that day.
Blake said organizations can monitor production from arrays and individual panels through a mobile phone application.
Blake said the board began discussing ways to reduce electricity costs about five years ago.
Replacing the station’s lighting with LED equipment has helped a bit, he said.
The board began considering the feasibility of installing a solar array earlier this year.
The organization signed a deal with Groundhog Solar in August.
Work began in September and the system went live on November 20th.
Blake said the current roof will likely outlast the array’s expected lifespan of 25 years.