AllEarth Solar trackers help Maine Beer Co. go solar

Two 6.2 kW AllEarth Solar Trackers in a 55.12 total kW solar array produce energy for the Maine Beer Company in Freeport, Maine.

The beer at the Maine Beer Co. in Freeport, Maine, just got a little sweeter thanks to two innovative solar trackers from AllEarth that now power the brewery and tasting room.

The 55.12 kW solar project will help offset the electrical bills of Maine Beer Co., which brews 13 beer varieties from its headquarters on Rt. 1 in Freeport and ships to distributors in 10 states.

Maine Beer Co. lives by its official slogan to “do what’s right.” This solar array will offset approximately 50 percent of the brewery’s total electric energy usage.

The project incorporated American-made AllEarth Solar Trackers, which track the sun throughout the day to maximize energy production, along with a rooftop array. The ground-mounted pre-engineered solar trackers are designed for residential and commercial-scale installations and are manufactured in Williston, Vt. by AllEarth Renewables.

AllEarth Solar Trackers produce over 30 percent more energy than fix ground-mounted systems and up to 45 percent more energy than rooftop systems per kilowatt installed.

The project was installed by Assured Solar Energy, a solar design and installation company since 2006, located in North Yarmouth, Maine.

“We were excited to supply innovative, American-made solar trackers for this project, a solar solution that will produce more energy from the sun and give our customer greater long-term energy savings,” said Rob Taisey, president of Assured Solar Energy. “In addition to producing more energy to meet their electric demand, the Beer Company liked that the solar trackers would be a visible statement of their renewable energy commitment.”

“We are thrilled about Maine Beer Company’s commitment to going solar and that they wanted to make the statement to their customers, and get the solar energy boost, from two of our locally made solar trackers,” said David Blittersdorf, president and CEO of AllEarth Renewables.

In addition to the Vermont manufactured solar trackers, the project utilized 164 REC 260 Watt solar panels, 94 SolarEdge Power Optimizers and 3 Solaredge AC Inverters.

Assured Solar Energy is working with Maine Beer Company to manage its overall energy usage and reduce demand charges through a combination of demand management, additional renewable energy, stored energy, and possibly distributed generation using micro combined heat and power. Their use of innovative SolarEdge technology will give them opportunities for future demand side management with the innovative, energy savvy brewing company.

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: http://solarbuildermag.com/news/allearth-solar-trackers-help-maine-beer-co-go-solar/]