Solar Electric Generation
Corvallis Municipal Airport
A 100kW ground-mounted solar array at the Corvallis Airport was installed in June 2017. The location of the array is the former United Chrome EPA industrial Superfund site. The array will generate enough electricity to power at least 75% of the energy consumed by City-paid Pacific Power meters at the airport. This project demonstrates that a very difficult-to-use property can be put to beneficial use. As of the end of 2020, this array produced 456,000 kWh of electricity. Click here to see real time electricity generation.
Public Works
The City turned the switch on a 208kw solar array at Public Works in late 2014. The array produces around 230,000 kwh per year, powering many of the meters on site, including the Fire Department’s Training Facility. As of the end of 2020, this array produced nearly 1.4 million kWh of electricity. The array was built with funds from Pacific Power BlueSky customers and the Energy Trust of Oregon. See how much power it’s making by clicking here.
Fire Station 1
The City turned on its second city-owned renewable solar electric generation project on May 16, 2013. The project crossed department lines with expertise and effort coming from Fire, Public Works (Administration, Buildings, and Electronics), and Management Information Services. The 37kW system was constructed on the roof of Fire Station #1 (Harrison).
The array consists of 150 panels and has produced, on average, about 42,500 kWh each year, which is over 20% of the station’s electrical consumption. 100% of the project funding came from Pacific Power's Blue Sky program and the Energy Trust of Oregon. As of the end of 2020, this array produced about 440,000 kWh of electricity.
The system uses micro-inverters to change the electricity produced in direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Unlike other installations that use one or two large inverters for an entire system, individual micro-inverters are joined to each solar panel. By having an inverter on each panel, it allows the system owner to monitor each panel for performance and reduces production losses in the event of an inverter failure, something that is not possible with large inverter installations where multiple panels feed into one inverter.
The micro-inverters send information to an online monitoring site that displays historical energy production from the panels. Individual panels can be observed by the site administrators for performance. Click here to access the site. Click here for a more detailed look at the system's energy production.
Fire Station 3
A 31.2 kW roof-mounted solar array was installed in September 2023. Located at 1310 NW Circle Blvd, it is estimated to produce 41,500kWh / year. The project was partially funded by the Energy Trust of Oregon. For real-time and historic information on the system’s production, click here.
Fire Station 4
The City turned on its first city-owned renewable solar electric generation project on May 24, 2011. The 15kW system was constructed on the roof of Fire Station #4 (Tunison) with 100% of the project funding coming from Pacific Power's Blue Sky program and the Energy Trust of Oregon. The solar panels are expected to provide over half of the station's demand. As of the end of 2020, the 15 kW array has already produced 186,500 kWh of electricity, reducing purchased electricity at the station by 60%.
The system includes web-based monitoring that can be accessed here. It shows real-time (within a couple hours) and historical energy production from the panels.
