Franklin, MA – State and local officials attended an event today at Alpha Grainger Manufacturing to celebrate the completion of a 425 kW solar PV installation at the company’s manufacturing facility in Franklin, MA. The project was a collaboration between Broadway Electrical Co., Inc, Alpha Grainger Manufacturing, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), Satcon and PanelClaw.
“Projects such as Alpha Granger’s contribute to the vibrant clean energy economy we are growing in Massachusetts as we work toward Governor Patrick’s goal of 250 megawatts of solar power by 2017,” Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles said. “Thanks to projects like this, we will have installed or are under contract over 60 megawatts by the end of this year – a nearly 20-fold increase over the 3.5 MW installed statewide when the Governor took office, and an accomplishment that has helped to nearly triple employment in the solar sector since 2007.”
“This solar installation and the unique partnership that it has brought together is great news for the town of Franklin,” said Massachusetts House Majority Leader James E. Vallee. “This PV system will not only reduce negative impacts on the environment, but more importantly, it will give a local business a great reason to stay—and to grow and provide jobs—here in Massachusetts.”
Senator Karen Spilka added: “Not only did this partnership help create jobs in our community, it also helps to make manufacturing more competitive in Massachusetts, which is a very important job sector to the Commonwealth.”
Alpha Grainger received a $561,061 Commonwealth Solar rebate from MassCEC to help offset the costs of installing the solar panels. The Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program was launched by Governor Patrick in January 2008 to accelerate progress toward his 250 MW goal.
“Alpha Grainger Manufacturing is one of many companies throughout the Commonwealth turning to renewable energy to reduce their energy use,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “We are proud to support these projects, which help companies maintain their competitive advantage by providing vital savings every month on their energy bill.”
Developed by Broadway Electrical, a leading full-service, family-owned electrical construction and solar energy installation company, the 425 kW rooftop installation supplies power to Alpha Grainger Manufacturing’s modern, 90,000-square-foot Franklin facility, which supports the company’s green initiatives. With a predicted output of 481,525 kWh per year, Alpha Grainger is expected to save over $72,000 per year on its energy bills.
“This is yet another example of the Governor, Legislature and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ commitment to renewable energy,” said Lawrence M. Hurwitz, CEO, Broadway Electrical Co., Inc. “This installation would not have been made possible without all of the partners involved, and we are pleased to help pass along both exceptional cost savings to Alpha Grainger for the long-term, and to contribute to a cleaner environment.”
Broadway Electrical selected Satcon’s Solstice system, the first complete power harvesting and management solution for utility scale solar power plants. The site has 1,575 Suntech 270W panels via a PanelClaw Mounting System and four of the Satcon Solstice 100kW solutions, integrated with sixteen Solstice SSB combiner boxes which house the unique string level DC to DC conversion, maximum power point tracking, performance management and system communications technologies.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this unique partnership and pleased that Alpha Grainger was the site for the first commercial deployment of our next generation Solstice power conversion solution for commercial and utility solar PV,” said Pete DeGraff, Satcon’s Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing. “Our technology provides Alpha Grainger with an optimized end-to-end, panel-to-grid, Solar PV electrical power generation system that will improve energy generation for Alpha Grainger and set the new standard in system performance and reliability.”
Previously, Broadway Electrical worked with the MassCEC to install a 68 kW system at Salem State’s Atlantic Hall, as well as a 132 kW solar PV system on two of the four roofs of Medway High School’s auditorium and gymnasium.