Installation of the largest residential solar electric system in Central Massachusetts, and one of the largest in the Commonwealth, has been completed in Grafton, according to Mark Durrenberger, president of Hudson-based New England Clean Energy, which designed and installed the system.
The 45,9-kW ground-mounted solar PV system includes 180 Canadian Solar 255-watt solar panels mounted on 12 poles, and six PVI-7500 string inverters from Lawrence, Mass.-based Solectria Renewables.
“Current state and federal incentives combined with my overall concern about environmental issues made this the right time for me to install solar. The system will cover the electrical needs for several properties, while also earning income through the sale of SRECs. I’m very pleased with the quality and aesthetics of New England Clean Energy’s work. They did a great job,” said the customer, who prefers to remain anonymous.
“The size of residential solar systems has been increasing steadily since we opened our doors — on average 30 percent a year since 2007, based on the 300 installations we’ve done in Central Massachusetts. Our average system size in 2012 was about 6,150 watts. So far this year, it’s 7,800 watts. Even though the Commonwealth Solar II rebate tops out at 5,000-watt systems, home-owners are installing larger systems to take advantage of the 30 percent federal tax credit on the system cost, and SREC income based on solar production,” Durrenberger said.
Installation of the Grafton system, which included pole and panel installation, trenching and wiring, took place over six weeks from late August to early October. The system will be turned on in approximately four weeks after National Grid approves the system’s interconnection to the utility grid.
View a timelapse video of the project here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTeE5ENYI3Q&feature=share&list=UUsevwUiUDFQRRXIFnD9QfrQ.
— Solar Builder magazine
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