Thursday, December 22, 2011

Epic Systems Goes Solar

I had occasion to drive by the huge Epic Systems campus near Verona Wisconsin a couple weeks ago, and took this chance to catch sight of the largest PV array in Dane County, and soon, largest in the state.

Here is what you see when you first drive up the Epic highway


On the Left
                                    On the Right




Then, after winding around the very handsome campus of buildings, gardens, and walkways, we come to the visitor parking center, most of which is covered by an extensive canopy of.... SOLAR!!!!




At this point, totalling somewhere around 400 kilowatts.










Eventually, the total is reportedly going to exceed 2.2 MW,
that's 2,200 kilowatts!!!!  Even if this provides less than 2% of the total energy consumed by Epic, it probably accounts for 10% or more of their energy costs.  This is only a guess, but is based on the fact that Epic Systems has tons and TONS of computer servers, all which require significant cooling capacity to keep them running smoothly.  And, when the summer sun is hot, Hot, HOT, the energy requirements are hi, High, HIGH, and their DEMAND COSTS go way up.  Having solar online will help keep their PEAK demands more manageable and normalize their grid energy requirements, which will improve their cost profile very much.  Smart going, Epic Systems!!

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