Largest solar field in Ohio is dedicated in Wyandot County

The PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm north of Upper Sandusky has 159,200 solar panels and eight power stations housing transformers and other equipment. It is about 65 miles south of Toledo. NOT BLADE PHOTO Enlarge

Ralph Izzo, left, chairman, chief executive, and president of Public Service Enterprise Group of Newark, N.J., chats with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland next to the solar panels during the news conference. The solar farm is owned by a subsidiary of Public Services. NOT BLADE PHOTO Enlarge

UPPER SANDUSKY - In the same two Wyandot County-owned fields where crops once grew stands a $44 million solar farm that even on overcast days can produce power for 4,500 houses - an amount that doubles on sunny days.

And three-month-old PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm north of Upper Sandusky gives employees of First Solar Inc.'s factory in Perrysburg Township a chance to glimpse thin-film solar panels they build in action when visiting co-worker Dan Williamson of nearby McCutchenville.

"They just love seeing our end product, a working solar field," said Mr. Williamson, an eight-year First Solar veteran who works in maintenance.

During the dedication ceremony Thursday at this solar farm, which is Ohio's largest, Mr. Williamson and more than 75 other attendees got a close-up look of the fields of fixed modules surrounded by fences.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, First Solar Chief Executive Robert "Rob" J. Gillette, and others spoke at the celebration about 65 miles south of Toledo.

"What we're really doing today is 'flipping the switch' on the future," Mr. Strickland said.

The 84-acre solar farm with First Solar panels primarily from the firm's Perrysburg Township factory started supplying American Electric Power with up to 12 megawatts of power May 26. Construction began in October; initial operations started April 6.

The solar farm has 159,200 solar panels and eight power stations housing transformers and other equipment. It is in Wyandot County's Salem Township.

The solar farm is owned by a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group of Newark, N.J., called PSEG Solar Source LLC. It is monitored not on site but from Boulder, Colo., by Juwi Solar Inc., and has a handful of workers on site.

Ralph Izzo, Public Service's chairman, chief executive, and president, said the solar farm has met electricity production expectations, which are driven by weather conditions. Luckily, on sunny days when more power is needed for air conditioners, the solar panels are at their production peak, he said.

"Even when there's diffused light …it's still producing," Mr. Izzo said. "The beauty of solar is that it produces the most when you need it most."

It requires little maintenance beyond routine duties, such as changing filters and replacing fuses, company officials said.

"The highest maintenance is cutting the grass," Mr. Izzo said. "The second-highest maintenance is praying for rain."

Rain is the only way the panels are washed, said John Montagna, PSEG Solar Source's engineering manager. Some dust doesn't affect the solar panels, and washing them could lead to caking on them, Mr. Montagna said. Plus, the goal is to conserve energy, he said.

"There's enough rainfall here to keep these panels clean," he said. "Even in dustier locations, it's just fine."

The firm has a similar-sized solar farm in Florida and a smaller one in New Jersey, he said. Development of such projects will help bring down the costs of solar power, he said.

Solar fields, meanwhile, provide an economic opportunity for construction jobs in rural counties, said Eric Romich, an OSU Extension employee based in Upper Sandusky who directs Wyandot County economic development. He worked with AEP, and then Juwi and PSEG, to help locate the solar field on Wyandot County land. Vaughn Industries LLC of nearby Carey was the project's construction contractor.

The solar farm is near an American Electric Power substation, through which it links to the grid.

Ohio two years ago enacted a law requiring utilities to generate a portion of energy consumed by residents to come from advanced energy sources, including solar, by 2025.

"There's no point to an 85-acre solar field if you don't have any place to put the electricity," Mr. Romich said.

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:

jmckinnon@theblade.com

or 419-724-6087.