August 11, 2009

PV solar panel installation and ‘Energy on a Stick’ unveiled at Wisconsin State Fair Park

Officials from Wisconsin State Fair Park, We Energies, Focus on Energy, Conserve Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin’s Office of Energy Independence, unveiled the largest solar installation on the roof of the Wisconsin Products Pavilion. The system, a 27.2-kilowatt system, will produce some 34,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Fairgoers will be able to view the…

Officials from Wisconsin State Fair Park, We Energies, Focus on Energy, Conserve Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin’s Office of Energy Independence, unveiled the largest solar installation on the roof of the Wisconsin Products Pavilion. The system, a 27.2-kilowatt system, will produce some 34,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Fairgoers will be able to view the system during the Wisconsin State Fair while traversing the grounds via the sky gliders.

The second installation, “Energy on a Stick,” is located on North Grandstand Ave. Energy on a Stick is a 2.3-kilowatt pole-mounted solar tracker that will produce 3,850 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. The solar tracker has informational signage to educate the public about how solar energy is produced. Additional information about solar power also can be found at the fair at Energy Park and in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion.

The cost for the solar installation projects was funded through grants from We Energies, Conserve Wisconsin, and Focus on Energy. Design and coordination of the installation was provided by the Division of State Facilities, which is part of Wisconsin’s Department of Administration.

Visitors to Wisconsin State Fair Park will be able to see live tracking of the combined amount of electricity being generated by the panels on the roof of the Wisconsin Products Pavilion and Energy on a Stick via a large flat screen TV mounted on a wall in the southwest corner of the pavilion. The public can also monitor the electricity being generated online.

The solar tracker and panels combined have the capacity to generate enough electricity to bake 900,000 cream puff shells per year.