Solar array ready, waiting for Alliant?s go-ahead

Traveling along North Fourth Street, it?s hard to miss a new landmark just north of the railroad tracks.

On the south side of the Amy Ram commercial building, 504 N. Fourth St., is a recently installed solar panel. But just saying ?solar panel? does not convey its size. On Ideal Energy?s website IdealEnergyInc.com, and its Facebook page, it is referred to as a commercial solar array.

?It?s 120 feet long and 14 feet wide,? said Troy Van Beek, owner and president at Ideal Energy, the local company that installed the panels. ?It?s part of Fairfield?s ongoing green plan.?

Van Beek is referring to Fairfield Go Green Strategic Plan 2020, initiated in 2009.

The solar array at the Amy Ram building can generate 20 kilowatts of electricity.

?It?s not officially ?on? yet,? said Van Beek. ?We?re waiting on Alliant. There?s paperwork and logistics to get through. Alliant does a meter swap-out. We finished construction Dec. 28. So, it?s up, it works fantastic and it will supplement electrical energy for that building.?

Construction began in late October. Cooperating weather was on their side, as the ground hasn?t frozen yet.

?We are working on construction for another solar array at a local business that will generate 150 kilowatts of electricity and provide 100 percent of its energy,? Van Beek said. ?This business has asked us to hold off on any announcements yet until installation is further along and they will make it public.

?We?ve installed a solar panel at a private home in Fairfield that generates 2 kilowatts and that house is completely off the grid.?

Pictures of the house and the solar panels on North Fourth Street are on Ideal Energy?s website and Facebook page.

?The inspiration for installing solar energy at the Amy Ram building came from our anchor tenant, Genetic I. D.,? said Amy Greenfield, owner of Greenfield Properties, a design and building company emphasizing natural, non-toxic building materials, high performance design and renewable energy systems.

?Genetic I.D. tests food for genetically modified organisms, which is a growing industry. They wanted a competitive edge in the marketplace,? said Greenfield. ?They have been working with us to come up with a renewable energy source to power their lab.

?Solar is the most efficient in this case. Large wind towers are not allowed inside city limits and any type of wind-power we could put on the roof would not generate enough energy. The building has high energy usage; there?s the lab, and many other offices using computers.?

Greenfield said the Amy Ram building was audited for energy use and changes were previously made to lighting and air-handling/heating systems to bring more efficiency.

?When the solar array goes online, it will supplement the electricity from the grid,? said Van Beek. ?Iowa mandates that renewable energy use a net meter.

?To go totally off-grid, you need to be able to store any energy not used when it?s generated. That means having batteries housed for storage.

?A net meter accumulates credit for energy produced and not consumed right away,? he said. ?The meter actually runs in reverse. When you have energy credit accumulated, then on a cloudy day, the credit starts getting used.?

Van Beek said the solar array at the Amy Ram building will provide energy for anything that uses electricity: lights, computers, electrical hot water heaters, etc. And it will operate using a net meter.

The placement of the solar array also offers some shade shelter from the south sun and when cars park perpendicular to the solar panels, it seems to provide partial carport type shelter from other weather elements.