SEATTLE— March 4, 2011 Northwest Wind & Solar has installed an 11.96 KW photovoltaic (PV) solar system on the Brettler Family Place/Magnuson Park Housing community building. The three-building, 52-unit complex will provide permanent housing with supportive services and is owned and operated by Solid Ground, It will be completed in March 2011.
Designed by Tonkin/Hoyne Architecture & Urban Design the complex, especially the community building, is symbolic of the project’s interaction with nature. The community building utilizes sustainable materials, especially those that can be reused, and showcase how the buildings interact with nature and relate to the park. With funding from Washington State, the buildings are designed to the Evergreen Sustainable Design Standard (ESDS), a standard mandated and certified by the state.
The Magnuson Park Community Building PV system is a combination of high-profile tilt, and a flush mount array of panels using standing seam metal roof clamps. The array design elevates and spaces the solar panels to optimize solar exposure. The panels are mounted using specially-designed and custom built structural roof curbs. The system uses microinverters, which provide maximum power point tracking and increase energy harvest from each solar module, to maximize production.
According to Solid Ground, the housing is being built with environmentally friendly materials and energy conservation features; provides opportunities to increase the already successful collaboration with neighbors and community groups within the neighborhood; contributes to the region’s 10-year plan to end homelessness; and creates a model for how communities can reuse surplused military facilities to help end homelessness.
About NW Wind & Solar:
SME Inc. of Seattle brings more than 39 years of electrical construction experience to its newest business unit – NW Wind & Solar. A natural extension of SME’s electrical prowess, NW Wind & Solar’s professionals are estimating, designing and installing solar electric systems and wind turbine installations for residential and commercial clients throughout the Pacific Northwest. Recent projects include: a 5.2 kW PV system for the Construction Industry Training Council in Bellevue, an 8.28 kW PV system for a residence in Buckley, Wash., and a 68 kW PV system for the Seattle Housing Authority’s Lake City Village development.
Photo caption: NW Wind & Solar installed an 11.96 KW photovoltaic (PV) solar system on the Brettler Family Place/Magnuson Park Housing community building.