PV Solar System Tracking
Columbia County now has two rooftop solar arrays in operation.
One at the County Highway Garage on Route 23B in Greenport, and a second
at the Dept. of Social Services building at 25 Railroad Ave. in Hudson.
at the Dept. of Social Services building at 25 Railroad Ave. in Hudson.
Department of Public Works Rooftop Solar
In 2023, Columbia County replaced the roof and installed a rooftop solar array at the Department of Public Works building on Route 23-B in Greenport.
The solar array is rated for 186 kW (DC) /150 kW (AC). While the annual electric use at the DPW building is about 78,000 kWh/year, the estimated production of the solar array is 220,639 kWh/year. The excess production at the DPW site will be used to offset electric utility costs at other county owned buildings. It is anticipated that this solar system will save the county over $20,000 in electric utility costs annually, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) by about 146 metric tons per year.
Installation of this solar array includes an internal cloud-based monitoring system. The solar panels were connected to the grid and began producing electricity for the county on December 1st 2023.
Department of Social Services Rooftop Solar
In 2023 and 2024, Columbia County performed significant energy efficiency upgrades to the DSS building on Railroad Ave. in the City of Hudson, including the installation of a rooftop solar array.
The DSS PV system consists of 137 Boviet 540 W modules for total DC system size of 74 kW (DC)/50 kW (AC), and is expected to generate over 86,000 kWh annually to offset the facility’s energy usage. Like the DPW array, the DSS system is equipped with a remote monitoring system to measure on-site weather conditions and near real-time operation of the solar inverters. The PV system was approved to begin operation on April 24, 2024.
The cost of the DSS solar system was partially offset by a $15,000 NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities grant the county obtained through a Clean Heating, Cooling, and Energy Efficiency Community Campaign.
The public dashboards below show the electric production of the two systems for various time frames.
The orange line shows the electric power being produced, measured at the inverters. The blue bars show the electric power being added to the grid, measured at the meter. These PowerTrack dashboard apps were developed by alsoenergy and the links provided by the contractor, Centrica.