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Standard Solar Turns Shade Into Gold With Carport Projects

Thursday, May 21 2015

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Rockville, Md.-based Standard Solar has installed a 930 kW photovoltaic power system with rooftop and carport arrays at the Upper Marlboro, Md., headquarters of Melwood, a nonprofit organization that creates jobs and opportunities to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
 
The system features a 1,335-panel rooftop array and six carport arrays, with the latter having a combined capacity of 517 kW. The entire PV system is expected to produce over 1.2 GWh of electricity per year - enough to offset nearly all of the annual load at the Melwood campus.
 
It is increasingly common to see solar shading canopies incorporated into photovoltaic power projects, either as an element of a larger project or as a stand-alone array. Scott Wiater, president of Standard Solar, says the growing popularity of solar shading structures and carports is due, in part, to the improving economics of the segment. However, he says customers are finding value in the carports themselves over and above their value as electricity generators.