Renewable Generation Display Project

In the summer and fall of 2012 CVEA installed distributed generation displays at each of the Cooperative’s office buildings. The goal for installing the displays is to provide the Membership with a visible installation, displaying the minimum requirements to interconnect as part of the Net Metering Program and to show the amount of electrical energy you could expect to offset from a solar array in the Copper Basin or a wind turbine in Valdez.

Energy Summary

Wind Turbine - 2.4kW

Total Capital Cost $31,788

CVEA's wind turbine display is a Skystream 3.7 all inclusive distributed wind energy system. The controls and inverter are located in the nacelle. The unit begins generating electricity with average wind speeds of at least 10 mph, with the best results of more than 12 mph. The unit is mounted on a 70' monopole structure mounted to a 10'x10'x4' concrete foundation.

The wind turbine was decommissioned as of December 2014. View the summary article of the results of the project.

Solar Tracking Array - 2.7kW

Total Capital Cost $23,174

CVEA's solar array display consists of 12-LG 255 solar panels that are mounted on a duel axis tracking unit that will follow the sun throughout the day; increasing the efficiency by nearly 40% compared to a fixed array. The unit utilizes micro-inverters mounted to the rear of the panels to convert the solar panel DC voltage to AC.