The solar panels on the Atlantic City Convention Center saved the authority that runs it about a quarter of a million dollars in their first year of operation, the president of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority said Friday.
The solar panels, the largest single-roof solar array in the country, produced 2,764,235 kilowatts of electricity, or 28 percent of the building’s needs, last year, the authority said. And that was during the third-rainiest year on record.
“We were thrilled with the results, that we expected (it to produce) 26 percent for the first year, and we got 28 percent,” ACCVA President Jeffrey Vasser said Friday. “It’s already paid for itself as far as we’re concerned.”
Pepco Energy installed the solar panels and maintains them, and took advantage of state and federal green-energy rebates, Vasser said. The ACCVA contracted with Pepco to buy electricity from them at a set rate for 20 years.
As time goes on and electricity rates go up, the authority will save even more, Vasser said.
Projects such as this one can save a lot of money in energy costs, Rick Dovey, president of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, said Friday.
The ACUA has its own solar panels near the wind farm on the White Horse Pike, and it is a big money saver, Dovey said.
“Over the last four years, we’ve saved almost $400,000, and that includes our capital costs,” Dovey said.
Contact Elaine Rose:
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