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EBSCO Publishing to use solar power |
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21 August 2007 |
Contacts
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EBSCO Publishing has installed 192 solar panels on the roof of their mill building on Union Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. This system is among the largest installations on the North Shore of Boston and provides year-round electricity from the sun. The solar panel project is one of the green initiatives EBSCO has instituted with the aim of decreasing the company's impact on the environment.
EBSCO's 192 module system will generate approximately 41,300 kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually. This is the equivalent of 37,170 lbs of CO2 emissions per year.
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EBSCO's green initiatives |
| Tim Collins, President of EBSCO Publishing says the solar panels are the largest and most visible corporate initiative, but EBSCO's commitment to its green initiatives started small. "We started by forming a team of employees to discuss our goals and make suggestions. We have made changes as small as buying company mugs and water bottles for all of our employees to cut down on paper and Styrofoam waste. We've also made larger decisions such as changing our corporate fleet over to hybrid cars. The solar panels are part of our overall decision to decrease our environmental footprint, but we will continue to explore other environmentally-friendly options."
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How the system works |
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PV systems are carefully engineered to convert this free energy into electricity that is readily usable by homes and businesses. Solar modules, made of silicon, glass, and aluminum absorb photons from the sun creating a voltage potential. When the modules are connected in a circuit, direct current (DC) electricity flows, much like batteries in a flashlight. A special piece of equipment called an inverter must be used to turn the DC current into AC current which is used by the building. The inverter is located in the building and connected into the main power panel. When the sun shines, electricity back-feeds the meter, offsetting the amount of electricity drawn from the grid. If the solar panels are making more power than the building uses, the meter spins backwards crediting the owner's account.
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company links:
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