Businesses & Farms
Oceanus Rehoboth
6 Second Street, Rehoboth Beach
October 16, all day • Outside, self-guided viewing
The Oceanus motel hosts a 49.56KW (DC) / 40KW (AC) non-storage, solar system, utilizing 177 individual solar panels mounted on the roof of the building. The system was in installed by Lucent Energy Management in 2017. The system has an annual average production of 65MWh with a current lifetime generation of 302MWh. The system supplements 50% of the maximum energy usage of the building.
Why we went solar: Environmental concerns
Contact: Daniel Fosnocht
Website: https://www.oceanusrehoboth.com/sustainability
Go Fish Restaurant
24 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach
October 16, all day • Outside, self-guided viewing
We have 85 panels mounted on a superstructure made from composite ( not metal) panels laid on top of structure. Average savings is $500 per month.
Why we went solar: We received grant money and it made financial sense, and I support renewable energy.
Contact: Alyson Blyth
Website: https://www.gofishrehoboth.com
For safety reasons, the public is not invited onto farm property this year.
For further information about any of these farm-based installations, please contact the installer or Energize Delaware.
Haven Farms
Six poultry houses and residence, Kent County
Type of system: 281.4 kW solar system with 804 ground-installed, 350-watt solar panels on 1.3 acres, producing 387,200 kWh annually.
Carbon footprint over 25 years: Equivalent to saving 709,000 gallons of gasoline, or electricity for 574 homes, or planting 161,000 trees, or eliminating 14 million miles of driving.
Installer: Sunrise Solar (410-810-1504)
Financing: Energize Delaware
KC Farm
Six poultry houses, Kent County
Type of system: 246 kW solar system with 724 ground-installed, 340-watt solar panels on less than an acre, producing 338,700 kWh annually.
Installer: Sunrise Solar (410-810-1504)
Financing: Energize Delaware
Woodward Farm
Four poultry houses and residence, Sussex County
Type of system: 133.1 kW solar system with 340 ground-installed, 340-watt solar panels on less than an acre, producing 182,000 kWh annually.
Installer: Sunrise Solar (410-810-1504)
Financing: Energize Delaware
T.S. Smith & Sons Farm
Sussex County
As part of their emphasis on sustainable agriculture, T.S. Smith & Sons installed solar panels to power their cold storage facility, which had been the biggest energy hog on the farm. The solar installation was designed, manufactured and installed by Delaware firms. It generates more energy than the cold storage warehouse requires, so it also generates revenue to offset their investment.
See this related article: Farmers brace in face of changing climate