Manchester solar array ‘exceeds expectations’ in first year
On Tuesday, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and the Manchester Department of Public Works announced that the municipal solar array has exceeded power generation projections in its first year of operations.
MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Tuesday, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and the Manchester Department of Public Works announced that the municipal solar array has exceeded power generation projections in its first year of operations.
Located at the former Dunbarton Road landfill across I-293 from Manchester Community College, over the past year the solar array has supplied approximately 4,377,420 kilowatt hours of energy, approximately 15 percent higher than initial estimates predicted.
The array has also generated $35,570 in additional revenue to the City of Manchester in energy sold to the state’s electrical grid. The array’s annual energy output, which resulted in zero carbon emissions, offset 3,420 tons of carbon dioxide that would have been equivalent to 668 gasoline passenger vehicles driven for a full year, three million pounds of coal burned, or 350,000 gallons of gasoline burned.
“We’re thrilled that our solar array, the largest municipal array in the state, is already outperforming our original estimates, generating enough electricity to power 600 homes annually here in Manchester,” said Mayor Joyce Craig. “I’m grateful for the hard work of the Department of Public Works and their commitment to creating clean energy options for Queen City residents.”
“The Department of Public Works is proud to be part of this sustainable initiative providing clean, renewable energy to Manchester residents,” added Tim Clougherty, Public Works Director. “We’d like to thank our energy consultant, Competitive Energy Services, the project developer, Kearsarge Energy, Mayor Craig and the Aldermen for helping bring this clean-energy project to reality.”