Allentown, PA Solar Panels Could Be First of Several in State

With the help of a solar energy grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA), Allentown, Pennsylvania has installed a $517,000, 420-panel solar array atop the city’s Bridgework Industrial complex that city officials hope will be the model for future installations throughout Lehigh County in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The panels were activated in early March of this year, but the entire project was finally completed yesterday after four years of planning. According to the Mcall, the panels have already produced enough energy to power five homes for a year and a television for over 400,000 consecutive hours.

The system is expected to produce 112,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy annually and bring in an extra $15,000 of annual revenue for the city of Allentown. The same can be done in neighboring cities in Lehigh County, where there are millions of square feet of unoccupied industrial roof space where solar arrays can be built, according to Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. The PEDA has funded over 1,500 solar projects throughout Pennsylvania, and with so much space available across Lehigh Valley roofs, they may be inclined to fund a few more projects in the area.

This latest solar installation in Allentown coulld be just the beginning of major solar development in the city. According to the PRNewswire, Air Products (NYSE: APD) announced today that the company will build a 12-acre, 1.5-megawatt (MW) solar farm at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Allentown. The farm, which will produce half of the energy needed to power the company’s administrative buildings, is expected to be up and running by the spring of 2011.