Six months after going online, Woolwich’s solar array is on track to reach its estimated yearly generating capacity. As of July 30, the system has produced 17,500 kilowatt hours (kWhrs) of solar energy, according to Jennifer Hatch, a manager and marketing representative of ReVision Energy of Portland and Liberty.

Hatch responded to questions the Wiscasset Newspaper emailed her. ReVision built the 80-panel array at the town’s former landfill off Middle Road. The array was fully activated Jan. 11. ReVision has estimated it would generate approximately 29,656 kWhrs of solar energy a year.

A few months ago, ReVision installed on the town website a link where people can monitor the solar array’s output.

“Our hope is that residents will be curious about the solar array and use the link to follow its performance,” she wrote. “You can view the performance by month, day or even time of day. People hopefully will find it interesting to see when it performs best and perhaps be surprised to find that it performs well even in inclement weather.”

The panels continue to generate power on overcast days. “The panels actually perform at a higher efficiency in the cooler temperatures, so even if it's not as sunny the panels still might be performing at high efficiency,” added Hatch.

Because there are no moving parts with these systems, there’s no maintenance. Wrote Hatch, “The panels will shed themselves of snow and in our climate we typically get enough rain to wash the panels clean.”

The array was financed through a power purchase agreement allowing the town to invest in solar energy with no upfront cost.

Want to see how the array is performing? Go to www.revisionenergy.solarlog-web.net/20467.html