Pickering Energy Solutions held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, December 18th for their recent installation of 209 solar panels on the roof of the Parkersburg Recycling Center.
Pickering Energy Solutions, founded by Dr. Charles L. (Chip) Pickering, is a West Virginia organization established to launch and encourage renewable energy generation and use within the Mid-Ohio Valley.
During the summer of 2015 Pickering Energy Solutions presented a proposal to the City of Parkersburg to provide solar power to its Recycling Center of 24th Street. Nick Arnold, Architectural Designer at Pickering Associates, prepared a presentation for the Public Works Committee which approved the project and later presented it to the City Council, which approved unanimously.
This system will provide approximately 65 kW DC of solar power which will offset a portion of the energy used in the building.
“We are expecting that this system will provide up to 50% of the energy used by the facility in an average year,” said Lance McCoy, Pickering Energy Solution’s Director of Communications.
The system design and electrical service modification was provided by Pickering Associates of Parkersburg, WV which included a structural review by Eric Smith, PE to assure the proper structural loading of the array.
The installation was completed by Davis Pickering of Marietta, OH led by Dave Lamp. This system is a grid-tied system, which means that it produces power which is synced with the utility power. If more power is produced than used in a given month, the excess power will be posted forward to offset future power use.
The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony took place at 11:00am on Friday, with introductory remarks and light refreshments. The Parkersburg Recycling Center is located at 100 24th Street.
Pickering Associates is a well-aligned team of professional architects, engineers and surveyors with a diverse depth and breadth of knowledge. Established in 1988, Pickering Associates was founded as an engineering company that has developed into an integrated architecture, engineering and surveying firm providing services to education, government, healthcare, industrial, oil & gas and private sector clients.