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Aqua America has finished its fourth solar array at one of its own water treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, this time completing a 1.5MW solar farm at its Pickering water treatment plant in Schuylkill Township, Chester County. Constructed across 6.5 acres, the solar array will help power the company’s largest water treatment facility and reduce the company’s grid-tied usage by 2.2 million kW annually.
This solar array joins Aqua’s 1MW Ingram Mill’s solar farm and two New Jersey solar farms, constructed by the company’s New Jersey subsidiary, at the Lopatcong Township and Gloucester Township water treatment facilities.
“We buy electricity at night when demand is lowest, which reduces our costs. During the day when pricing is highest and need is greatest, we reduce our dependency on the grid at the Pickering facility and get off the grid at the other three facilities," said CFO David Smeltzer. “We produce enough power to sell some back to the grid during optimum periods. Our cost savings benefit Aqua customers because the expense savings are passed on to customers. Our usage savings benefit other electricity consumers overall because the excess power we sell back to the grid helps keeps pricing down for everyone."
