SunWize designed a fixed ground mounted PV system for the American Samoa Power Authority consisting of 7,308 Sharp 240-watt modules and AE PowerStation inverters. American Samoa’s location near the equator receives over 1000 watts per square meter at peak hours of the day, an amount that’s ideal for solar. SunWize Project Managers developed a tight schedule and created strategic relationships on the island to ensure materials arrived on the island in time to meet critical project milestones. To combat corrosion, SunWize engineered a custom hot dip galvanized racking system and used epoxy painted inverter enclosures. A footing system was engineered that balances difficult drilling conditions and limited concrete resources while meeting the typhoon wind conditions. SunWize also hired a number of local subcontractors, employing 50 Samoans to assist with a variety of tasks.
The estimated PV System production of 2.6 million kWh/year will offset ASPA’s diesel consumption by more than 175,000 gallons and avoid releasing 3.9 million pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. The American Samoa Power Authority hopes to obtain more grant funding from the United States Department of Energy to install additional sustainable energy systems in the near future. Read the full press release
Solar Misperceptions – Part Three: Does a Solar Investment Pay Off?
In part three or our series, Matt Ziskin, Sr. Director of Marketing discusses the payback of residential solar under different payment plans.
Like any home improvement, solar systems can vary widely in cost and size. And now, there are more payment options to make solar accessible to more homeowners. Ziskin highlights three ways to think about the financial benefits of installing solar. “Most homeowners evaluate the cost of solar in terms of how much money they will save off of their monthly utility bills, how quickly they can recoup the cost of the system with their post-solar energy bill savings, and how much they can save compared to utility electricity costs over the life of the system.”
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