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Washington Electric Cooperative launches OurSolar

Ribbon-cutting ceremony is on Jan. 5

MARIETTA — Visitors to Washington Electric Cooperative may notice a difference in the landscape of the front yard.

That’s because the cooperative, in partnership with our generation and transmission provider Buckeye Power, has installed a 50-kilowatt solar panel array to help co-op members tap into renewable energy without the expense and drawbacks of doing it themselves. Through a community solar program called OurSolar, Buckeye Power will build new solar panel arrays at several co-op locations throughout Ohio, bringing more emission-free energy to the state’s electric cooperatives. Washington Electric’s array will be part of the project’s overall capacity of 2.1 megawatts. A typical rooftop display is 5 to 10 kilowatts.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate Washington Electric’s OurSolar installation will take place at 2 p.m. Jan. 5 at the co-op’s facility at 440 Highland Ridge Road near Marietta.

Interest in solar energy has grown in recent years, but for many people the installation and maintenance costs of a residential system remain out of reach. OurSolar also helps co-op members for which solar panels are not feasible for reasons other than cost – such as renters, tree obstruction, inadequate roof size, and house location – to benefit from this clean energy source.

The energy produced from each of the panels is expected to be about 375 kilowatt-hours per year, but may be more or less than this in any given year depending on weather conditions. The energy produced by the panels feeds directly into Washington Electric Cooperative’s distribution system to be used by co-op members.

OurSolar reflects Washington Electric and Buckeye Power’s balanced approach to electricity generation. While most of the power supplied to Washington Electric will continue to be produced by coal-fired generation that is among the cleanest of its kind in the world, OurSolar gives cooperative members the option to supplement that baseload power — that is, electricity production that is highly reliable and always available — with locally produced energy.

“Renewable energy sources are becoming more and more a viable component of electric generation,” said Jack Bragg, Washington Electric’s general manager. “This program gives the distribution cooperatives a low-risk opportunity to participate.”

The array at Washington Electric is the project’s third installation. More arrays are expected to be installed at electric cooperative locations throughout the state in 2017. Washington Electric is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative serving portions of six counties in southeastern Ohio. It is headquartered in Marietta.

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