Pickering Creek has installed a 45-kW solar system consisting of 89 solar panels in two separate arrays this fall. The panels were installed by Solar Energy Services of Millersville, MD during September and October of this year.
The first array is visible to all who enter the Center’s main parking lot. Perched on the roof of the Center’s tractor and hay wagon storage barn are 43 solar panels. The second array, consisting of 46 panels is adjacent to an agricultural field and is visible from Sharp Rd, but largely hidden behind an emergent meadow near the center’s garden.
These panels will power all the electrical needs of the Center’s six primary buildings as well as electrical needs of the rest of the campus. The Center recently converted many of its structures to energy efficient heat pumps for both heating and cooling, so the energy generated from these panels will support the use of those new heat pump systems.
“We’ve thought about solar panels for a long time and we are excited to bring them online and share any of our experiences with other nonprofit partners who might benefit from installing solar at their locations,” said Mark Scallion, Director of Pickering Creek. We are also thankful to Easton Utilities and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation for their assistance in facilitating the process.
The Center will host a tour of the panels for those interested in learning more on November 13th at 9am. At the tour we’ll connect nonprofit leaders to financial incentives offered by the federal government through the Inflation Reduction Act. We’ll have an installer on site to answer any technical questions about using solar at non-profit facilities. We’ll look at both roof and ground mounted systems.
If you are interested in attending the tour, please RSVP to Mark Scallion at [email protected]
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