It took six weeks for Shaw Solar to put in the photo voltaic panels on the Montezuma County Fairgrounds. (Mike Ellis/Courtesy Photo)
The venture has been began since 2019
After a six-week set up interval and almost 5 years of planning, a 154 kW photo voltaic panel set up venture was accomplished on the Montezuma-County Fairgrounds by Shaw Solar. The venture has reportedly been within the works since 2019.
“It’s a giant drawback,” Shaw Solar’s Mike Ellis mentioned the Journal.
According to Ellis, Montezuma County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jim Candelaria contacted Shaw Solar in 2019 about probably overseeing the venture, however the venture ran by means of some hurdles earlier than being accomplished.
“He known as me in 2019 as a result of we had been doing a photo voltaic for the Cortez Sanitation District, the place he was a board member, and he was curious concerning the risk and the potential for photo voltaic for the fairgrounds,” Ellis mentioned. “We did some investigating and located this to be resolution.”
Despite analysis pointing to the optimistic points of including photo voltaic to fairgrounds, there are some challenges which have arisen alongside the way in which.
“Empire Electric doesn’t enable extra of what they name ‘distributed vitality’ photo voltaic or every other kind of energy that they inject into their grid,” Ellis mentioned. “We’re ready, and within the meantime, we’re doing different initiatives in Montezuma County and so they’re doing a examine and so they know they will add extra photo voltaic on the roof of the fairgrounds.”
The venture lastly got here to fruition after the province utilized and was awarded a grant that paid for about 75% of the venture.
“The grant kicked issues into gear,” Ellis mentioned. “It’s 100% of the ability wants are the world constructing and the adjoining constructing. It’s enormous. Montezuma County has lots of photo voltaic on their buildings, and that is not the norm.
Ellis added that photo voltaic panels present a lot of the energy for the fairgrounds, and the photo voltaic was “designed and put in to fulfill two of the 5 electrical energy meters” on the property.
The venture was accomplished a couple of month in the past, and took six weeks to finish as soon as they got official permission to start set up.
He mentioned this photo voltaic venture is the fourth in a collection of initiatives performed in Montezuma County, surpassing Durango when it comes to photo voltaic set up and scope.
“It’s wonderful however Montezuma County is fairly ahead trying from my perspective,” Ellis mentioned.
