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Solar panels power municipal center in South Fayette
Sunny Side Up
Rooftop solar panels produce power for South Fayette Township Municipal Center
By Andrea Iglar
Rooftop solar panels at the South Fayette Township Municipal Center nearly stopped producing power during the solar eclipse this spring.
When the moon came between the sun and Earth, blocking about 97% of sunlight for several minutes on April 8, power generation plunged to a fraction of the usual rate.
“It’s just like it became nighttime for that moment,” said Mark Goyke, solar special projects division manager for Scalo Solar Solutions, LLC of Thornburg.
As the moon moved away from the sun, power production quickly ramped back up, he said.
Solar panels depend on light, not heat, and will generate the most electricity in summer months. Moonlight does not produce energy.
“The moon is absorbing all that [solar] energy,” Goyke said. “We’re just getting a reflective light off it.”
Scalo Solar, part of Scalo Companies, has funded and installed a $171,200 solar power plant atop the 36,000-squarefoot municipal center at no cost to the township.
Scalo Solar expects the system will produce about 93 megawatt hours of electricity this year, offsetting about half the power consumption of the municipal offices, meeting chambers and police station. Actual benefits will become apparent after the building operates for a year.
Eventually, the public will have access to an online dashboard showing real-time solar energy data at the municipal center.
Jack Scalo, president and CEO of Scalo Solar, said his company benefits from significant federal tax credits while selling the township electricity for 10% cheaper than the utility company would charge.
Scalo Solar will own the system for six years and then transfer ownership to the township for zero dollars, he said.
“I’m donating the solar,” Scalo said. “It’s part of giving back and advancing the solar business.”
Municipal governments do not pay taxes and therefore are not eligible for tax credits, but a private business like Scalo Solar can take advantage of incentive programs.
“It’s a good example of how we can partner with the private sector,” Township Manager John M. Barrett said.
The municipal building immediately consumes its own solar energy as it is produced, so the township buys less power from the electric company, reducing utility bills.
When the demand for electricity decreases, such as weekends and evenings, West Penn Power buys unused solar power at retail rate, offsetting the township's electric bill even more.
The approximate life of the solar panel system is 25 years, which matches the life expectancy of the roof, Scalo said.
Scalo Companies was the roofing contractor for the municipal center.
Each of the 191 solar panels weighs 72 lbs. and measures about 4 feet by 6 ½ feet. An inverter converts direct current (DC) electricity that the solar panels generate to alternating current (AC) electricity, which the electrical grid uses.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar technologies capture and convert sunlight into useful forms of energy.
Photovoltaic cells in solar panels absorb energy from sunlight. This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the cell, causing electricity to flow.
