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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and state and local officials attended an event at Salem State University, commemorating the solar PV project at Salem State’s Atlantic Hall. Broadway Electrical Co. Inc, a full-service, family-owned electrical construction and solar energy installation company, designed, supplied and installed the 68-kilowatt (kW) system on the existing roof of the Salem State University Central Campus Residence Hall.
“Our administration has put a major emphasis on supporting and growing the state’s renewable-energy projects, and we are seeing the results of this today,” Patrick said. “I commend Salem State University and Broadway Electrical for helping the Commonwealth make the transition to a clean-energy economy and setting a great example for communities and businesses throughout the state.”
The system, composed of four Fronius Inverters and 252 Suntech 270W solar panels mounted using a Unirac Rail System, will reduce the university’s use of grid-produced electricity by approximately 90,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year and represents a projected energy budget savings of $12,350 per year based on a rate of $0.13 cents per kWh.
Salem State completed the project through the management coordination of the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA). Broadway Electrical integrated a web-based Fat Spaniel monitoring system that provides a comprehensive array of data collection, inverter monitoring, power metering, communications networking and environmental assessment components.
