Parkersburg High School Fieldhouse
PHS Leads the Way by Adopting Solar Energy
378 Panel Solar Photovoltaic System Installed by Pickering Energy Solutions
The new solar array on the Parkersburg High School Field House will provide about 20% of the energy used in the Field House and about 3% of the power used in the entire Parkersburg High School complex. This system uses 378 Suniva 285 watt panels with a combined output of 107 kilowatts of power. This array is fed into (3) 30 kW SMA inverters, which take the DC power and convert it to AC and synchronize it with the facility’s power at 208 Volts 3 phase.
Installation Process
Positioning materials on the roof with a crane.
Panel Configuration
Installing solar panels.
Completed Installation
The finished 107 kW solar system.
View Power Production Live
This system, comprising 378 solar panels, will provide approximately 107 kW of solar power which will offset a portion of the energy used in the building. We are expecting that this system will provide 20% of the energy used by the PHS Fieldhouse in an average year. Click the panel image or link below to view the system live.
PHS Solar Club
While taking a civics and leadership class through Clemson University in 2013, Conor McCoy chose to develop a service learning project geared towards raising awareness about the benefits of renewable energy. The initiative also led to the formation of the PHS solar club, the first of its kind in West Virginia. The club’s early focus was on raising interest and awareness of the benefits of a solar energy system at the school.
Today, the club continues to be supported by Pickering Energy and the staff at PHS. The PHS solar club looks forward to showcasing the school’s accomplishments in renewable energy and is excited about the benefits of the newly installed solar unit.
More About the System
378 Solar Photovoltaic Panels, 107 kW
Unlike our microinverter systems, the panels are arranged in ‘strings’ of 21 panels, which creates a 650 volt DC circuit. These circuits are fed 6 at a time into the inverters, which convert the 650V DC into 480V 3 phase AC. These AC circuits are introduced into the Field House wiring system via a transformer, which matches the voltages.
The panels are US Manufactured (ARRA Compliant), the inverters are manufactured in the US and the mounting system, also made in the US, has an interesting story. Back in 2014 Pickering Associates was asked to work with a group called Ecolibrium Solar, which was engaged with TechGrowth Ohio to assist with business investment and market growth. PA provided an engineering package for the manufacture of their flagship product, what they called the EcoFoot 1. The Parkersburg High School installation uses the next generation of ballasted mounting systems, the EcoFoot 2.
This system will produce approximately 118,600 kWH of power for the High School in an average year, which is the equivalent power used by 10.7 average American homes for a year, and will avoid the creation of 132 tons of CO2 per year. This is the equivalent of the amount of CO2 produced by 100 Acres of trees.
Thanks for your support!
We would like to thank all of the partners involved in this project! This project was designed and supported by Third Sun Solar and installed by Pro1 Electric. Also, thanks to the Wood County Board of Education for their support through this project.
