Renewable Energy

Barlett’s Farm

Nantucket, MA

ART Engineering Corp. provided engineering consultation and grid interconnection design for Lighthouse Electrical Contracting, Inc.

Lighthouse Electrical Contracting, Inc. installed the first WES 250kW wind turbine in the United States at Bartlett’s Farm on Nantucket. The turbine will produce 500,000 to 550,000 kWh annually, or approximately 80% of the farm’s electrical needs valued at $100,000 to $110,000. The annual output of the turbine would supply the electric needs of 45 average US households and displace the Carbon Dioxide emissions equivalent to the burning of 41,000 gallons of gasoline.

The revenue from the electrical production, along with significant grants from The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (MRET) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provide a simple payback of 2½ to 3 years.

The turbine will produce 500,000 to 550,000 kWh annually, or approximately 80% of the farm’s electrical needs. The annual output of the turbine would supply the electric needs of 45 average US households. The revenue from the electrical production, along with grants from MRET and USDA, provide a simple payback of 2½ to 3 years.

Worcester State University

Worcester, MA

ART Engineering Corp. provided engineering consultation and grid interconnection design for GroSolar.  GroSolar installed 540 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the Learning Resource Center (LRC) building at Worcester State College that can generate more enough energy to supply electricity to 20 homes of about 2,800 square feet each. The system has a 105.3 kW STC rating.  The project cost was $870,000 and was paid for with $310,000 in Internal Revenue Service Clean Renewable Energy Bonds and a $560,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Leading by Example program. The solar panels are manufactured by Marlboro-based Evergreen Solar and should pay for themselves in about 15 years, or in half of the solar panels’ 30-year life span.