Solar energy comes to Annex
May 22, 2012
From left to right: Rep. Scott Guthrie, Town Council member Ted Jendzejec, Town Council member Carl Mattson, Rep. Lisa Tomassso, Founding Principal of SOLECT Energy Craig Huntley, another Founding Principal of SOLECT Energy Jim Dumas, Town Manager Thomas Hoover and Town Council President Gary Cote. Dennis McCarthy, founder and Managing Director of MGD & Associates, cuts the ribbon.
Jessica Boisclair. Kent County Daily Times.
COVENTRY — A ribbon cutting ceremony took place at Coventry’s Town Hall Annex Monday afternoon to celebrate the installation of its new Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system.
Founder and Managing Director of MGD & Associates, Dennis McCarthy explained that the town of Coventry awarded the contract for this project to SOLECT Energy in 2010.
Jim Dumas, Founding Principal of SOLECT Energy, explained at the ceremony that the 124 KW solar panels sit atop the roof, held down by bricks.
Town Council President Gary Cote explained that if anything needs to be replaced on a section of the panels, it can be dismantled and repaired without shutting the system down.
He said that the 595 panels continue to produce energy, even on cloudy days.
“All it needs is light; it doesn’t need bright sunlight all the time,” he said. “There are also converters on the side of the building that convert the sunlight into electricity.”
Town Manager Thomas Hoover explained that SOLECT Energy worked with the town to receive grants for the project; in the end it was of no cost to the taxpayers.
The town was awarded a $325,000 grant from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to install the solar panels.
SOLECT Energy also secured funding through the American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was passed by Congress in 2009.
Cote explained that the solar panels will generate approximately 31 percent of the electricity used in the Town Hall Annex on a daily basis; equaling a savings of $8,000 in the first year of use.
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