Grayslake High Schools will offset about 32% of their energy costs with three solar arrays installed by Continental Electric. Indianapolis-based Performance Services contracted Continental to design and install 8,755 PV modules totaling 2.7 megawatts. The Grayslake solar installation includes a 1.4 megawatt ground mount, one of the few solar farms in Illinois but one of what is about to become many! Illinois is adding 3,000 megawatts thanks to the Future Energy Jobs Act that went into force in 2017 and is inspiring many school districts, cities, business owners and residents to install solar.
Grayslake North Ground Mount
Construction at the two schools is scheduled to be done in three phases and will be completed early summer 2017. North’s ground array is built on a portion of the school’s vacant 25 acres of adjacent land. It is a fixed tilt solution utilizing AP Alternatives racking. The 1.4MW array is fed directly to the ComEd overhead lines passing through the property.
The roof arrays are held on the roof with ballast blocks as well as some physical attachments. The South High School has a 634kW array on the roof and North (left) has 729kW on its roof. The solar power system will be integrated into the school’s STEM educational curriculum including online access to the energy production of the solar array.