Shepard Steel, a structural steel and miscellaneous metals company serving the Greater Hartford region since 1956, has announced that a 611-kilowatt (kW) DC solar energy system installed on its headquarters went live on July 23, and has exceeded production estimates in the months since.

In the first three months of operation, the 1,674-panel solar energy system generated approximately 200 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, enough to power the company's operations into the winter.

Shepard Steel's headquarters is a one-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. building at 110 Meadow Street in Hartford, Conn. The manufacturer partnered with Solect Energy of Hopkinton, Mass., and Eversource to install the panels on an area covering 80,000 square feet of the roof.

The solar system is monitored around the clock by Solect, which uses a cloud-based monitoring platform to measure the system's output in real-time, ensuring it operates at maximum capacity. Solect's monitoring also provides historical data and projections on future production that take into account regional weather patterns.

"Shepard Steel tries to innovate continuously in ways that benefit our company and the surrounding community. Solar meets that goal and then some. Our new solar array is already delivering greater than expected savings to our energy-intensive operation, and the green, clean energy it produces has reduced our carbon footprint considerably," said Shepard Steel VP/CFO Keith F. Wolf.

"Since commissioning the solar system we have produced all our structural steel components using solar energy. Where Project Owners, Construction Managers or Design Teams are dedicated to Green Building, Shepard Steel brings another level of clean energy to further their mission," Wolf said.

"Smart businesses like Shepard Steel understand how solar reduces their tax liability, reduces overhead, and improves cash flow, all of which improve the bottom line. We commend Shepard Steel for its decision to install a solar energy system that benefits not only the company, but the community and society at large," said Solect Energy CEO Ken Driscoll.

Related Links
Shepard Steel
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

New technique lets researchers map strain in next-gen solar cells
Seattle WA (SPX) Nov 01, 2019
People can be good at hiding strain, and we're not alone. Solar cells have the same talent. For a solar cell, physical strain within its microscopic crystalline structure can interrupt its core function - converting sunlight into electricity - by essentially "losing" energy as heat. For an emerging type of solar cell, known as lead halide perovskites, reducing and taming this loss is key to improving efficiency and putting the perovskites on par with today's silicon solar cells. In order to unders ... read more