Sprague and Picktricity are teaming up to offer solar installations to terminal operators throughout the U . S .
SPRAGUE
INSTALLS SOLAR PANELS ATOP STORAGE TANK
Sprague and Picktricity are teaming up to offer solar installations to terminal operators throughout the U . S .
After installing thin , lightweight solar panels atop a petroleum storage tank at a terminal in South Portland , Maine , Sprague Operating Resources and Pictricity plan to install solar panels on tanks at other Sprague terminals , the companies said . Sprague has more than 20 refined products and materials handling locations in the Northeast . Picktricity , a Massachusetts-based installer of thin-film solar panels , originally approached Sprague to apply the adhesive solar panels to a Sprague tank in 2017 . The panels are thin , durable , flexible and lightweight , and are closer in size and weight to an all-weather floor mat than to traditional heavy solar panels . Weighing in at under five pounds for a 4-foot by 4-foot section , the panels can be directly applied to flat surfaces , unlike traditional solar panels , which require racks and bolts that add weight .
Sprague agreed to a pilot program , and after the panels were installed last August , quickly saw positive results . “ We put the panels on a typical storage tank to see if we could use our existing assets to generate energy savings while enhancing our sustainability efforts ,” said Jay Leduc , Sprague ’ s director of sustainability .
“ Our first objective is to offset energy usage , and then over time we would look to generate enough power to sell back to the grid ,” Leduc told Fuel Oil News .
Utility company Central Maine Power projects that the first installation will generate approximately 110 KWH per year , about 10 % of the terminal ’ s annual electricity demand , Leduc said . “ With the pilot project generating
16 APRIL 2019 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www . fueloilnews . com