On June 9, 2023 Mount Saint John began to turn the electric meter backwards, as the solar array came online.  The array will produce 100% of the electricity needed on an annual basis at Mount Saint John.

• The array occupies 3 acres of the front field acreage.

• There are 1,920 445 Watt panels manufactured locally by Toledo-based First Solar.

• The system generates 850 kW of DC power at peak sun and 625 kW of AC power.  This level is more than MSJ needs during the day, so the electricity is going back into the grid as a credit for night time and cloudy days (net metering).

• The array will produce about 1.1 million kWh of energy per year, making the campus net zero on an annual basis.

• In the first 13 days since the array was turned on, the system had already produced over 35,000 kWh of electricity.  For reference, that’s about 3 times the amount of electricity used annually in an electric-only family home!

• The fence is over a quarter mile long in perimeter.

• The longest row of solar panels is 301 feet.

• The panels are set 3 feet off the ground to allow room for native grasses to grow.

• The height of the panels is limited to 8 feet due to zoning visibility constraints.

• This puts our panels at a 20 degree angle, and the panels are fixed—they do not move to track the sun.

• Melink Solar (www.melinksolar.com) was the general contractor for the project.