MATC cuts ribbon on state's largest solar electricity installation

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From a news release about the ribbon cutting issued by MATC:

MILWAUKEE (Sept. 15, 2010) – Milwaukee Area Technical College hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its 32-acre, 540 kW Photovoltaic Educational Laboratory on Wednesday, Sept. 15. The PV Lab is located at 810 E. Capitol Dr., Milwaukee.

MATC and Johnson Controls, the global leader in delivering products, services and solutions that increase energy efficiency in buildings, collaborated on the project, the largest operating photovoltaic facility in Wisconsin and is believed to be the first entirely portable photovoltaic facility in the United States. The project was unanimously approved by the Wisconsin Technical College System State Board on Sept. 30, 2009, and ground was broken on May 5, 2010.

“The Photovoltaic Educational Laboratory showcases several outstanding attributes of MATC: innovation and creativity at work; partnering with local businesses to provide new educational opportunities; advancing the world of technology to heights we have not seen before; and becoming a leader for other educational institutions and businesses to follow,” said MATC President Dr. Michael L. Burke. “This physical location has changed dramatically in just over four months. It started as a non-descript, unwanted, unmarketable tract of land that had stumped experts for decades on what exactly to do with it. Now, it represents what can really be called a new American dream.”

. . . The site features:
• 2,590 PV panels;
• two training centers for technicians, designers, site assessors, electricians, sales personnel and other professionals in renewable energy fields;
• over-parking and over-road array placement;
• data collection capabilities; and
• the first public television transmitter in the country that will approximate energy grid neutrality.

Posted in: Solar