Solar panels performing as expected at fire station - By Elizabeth Richards

In October 2013, 156 solar panels were installed on the roof of the East Windham Fire Station. The goal of the project, according to the town’s Energy Advisory Committee website page, is to generate enough power to offset electricity used at both the East Windham station and the North Windham Fire Station.

In the Year 2 Annual Report for the project, released in June by ReVision Energy, the company that designed, installed and owns the system, results are reported for both the current year (November 2014 to October 2015) and since the panels were placed into service.

In both cases, the report states that the system has had no unscheduled outages. Over the life of the panels, the electricity generated has saved the Windham Fire Department over $870 in electricity costs. For 2014-15, the savings was over $390.

The electricity generated by the Windham Solar Array since being placed into service is equivalent to removing over 88,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere, according to the report.

An annual maintenance inspection performed on February 23, 2016, confirmed that the system is still in excellent working condition.

Town Manager Tony Plante said the panels have been performing as expected, and the current plan is for the town to purchase the system when the option becomes available in 2019. Although this is subject to change, Plante said he doesn’t anticipate any changes at this point in time.

The performance of the system can be monitored online through a link on the Energy Advisory Committee page at http://www.windhammaine.us/232/Energy-Advisory