Design, Installation, and Monitoring of a Rooftop Solar Power System, Prince George's County and the Maryland Energy Administration

The Prince George’s County government is committed to taking a leadership role in demonstrating and implementing environmentally sustainable technologies throughout the county. ANTARES installed a 12 kW solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the Inglewood III office building in Largo, MD.

The building is the county’s main headquarters for the Department of Environmental Resources (including the division of Permits & Review), Public Works & Transportation, and Housing & Community Development. Since the building is frequently visited by state and local decision-makers, engineers, architects, contractors, and the general public, it makes an ideal location for a showcase project.

The objective of the project was to capitalize on valuable state and Federal cost-share funding to install a minimum-cost solar power system for demonstrating the benefits and performance of solar power technologies. The project was funded by Prince George’s County, the Maryland Energy Administration, the Virginia Alliance for Solar Electricity, and the U.S. Department of Energy through an award from the Utility Photovoltaic Group’s TEAM-UP program.

The system includes a remotely accessible weather station and power meter to monitor system performance. The weather station monitors wind speed, solar energy, and ambient temperature.