Resources

To enhance Boston’s clean energy output, Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, went solar May 19, 2008. City officials hired groSolar, a solar installer company based in White River Junction, Vt., to install a solar water heating system on the roof of Fenway Park. GroSolar partnered with Heliodyne, a solar water heating panel manufacturer, to complete the installation.

South Dakota’s historic Ellsworth Air Force Base is looking toward the future with a new solar water heating system. Two Piedmont companies partnered to construct the energy system, which was completed in May 2011. Panel procurement and overall design was handled by GenPro Energy Solutions, while Power Plus Electric installed the system and will continue to operate and manage the system.

The town of Eagle-Vail, Colorado recently opened a community pool heated with 54 solar panels installed by Capitol Solar Energy and manufactured by UMA Solar.

The city of Covington, Georgia recently installed a solar water heating and photovoltaic system on the Covington City Hall. Not only will the system save the city money, but will also educate the public about the myriad of benefits from solar water heating and photovoltaics.

In an effort to attain LEED Gold certification, the College of Marin in Kentfield, California recently incorporated solar water heating into a major renovation of its Diamond Physical Education Center. SunWater Solar installed 89 Heliodyne GOBI 410 collectors which will provide warm water for two major public swimming pools. The two pools hold a total of 295,000 gallons of water.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) recently released Utility Scale Solar 2012, which examines trends in installations costs, operations and maintenance costs, capacity factors and power purchase agreement prices for all utility-scale solar technologies.