Sanyo will manufacture the solar panels for the solar array and Conergy will design and install the system. When complete, the panels will provide 1.1 megawatts of clean energy, reducing the load on the electrical grid and saving water treatment firm Aqua Pennsylvania $77,000 per year on energy.
The project, called Ingram's Mill Farm, is the recipient of a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. Project officials estimate that Ingram's Mill Farm will create 120 temporary full-time and 20 permanent full-time jobs. In addition, officials add, the solar array will provide the equivalent of planting 223 acres of trees, offsetting 35 million auto miles driven and saving 66,000 barrels of oil.
The benefits of the array are manifold, Aqua America CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis suggested. Not only will the solar power installation improve environmental stewardship, it will "cut operating costs [and] create a hedge against rising energy costs," too.
