So far, the array is generating on average 6,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per day on sunny days. An average home uses 9,000 kilowatt hours per year.
The array ought to power 150 homes per year and have a life span of up to 30 years, said Joe Jancauskas, manager of generation performance. Its performance so far is about 10 percent better than expected, he said.
Power began flowing from the Yankee Street facility, the first utility-scale solar array in southwestern Ohio, to the grid at 12:29 p.m. on March 24.
Jancauskas and Sprigg said the region’s first array has shown a couple of advantages already. Because temperatures here are moderate compared to the Western U.S. where solar power is more common, the 1.1 megawatt array is under less heat stress and, as a result, produces more power than expected. Heat tends to sap electronics, he added. Wetter Midwestern weather has also kept the 9,100 panels clean without a need to wash them. It took 67 tons of steel, 73 tons of aluminum and 163,000 feet of wire to build the array, Sprigg said.
Dayton Power & Light’s second solar power array will use 300 ground-mounted panels on a southern-facing hill at the Mound Advanced Technology Center in Miamisburg.
About the Author