NEWS

The 2014 Middle Peninsula Solar Tour is a free, self-guided tour of seven sites; four residences and 3 businesses. Tour attendees must register at www.hrsolartour.com to receive the addresses of the tour sites. This tour is part of a national and region-wide event that occurs on the same day. The Hampton Roads Solar Tour also includes the Peninsula, Southside and the Eastern Shore with a total of 24 sites.

Three of the solar homes that are featured on the Middle Peninsula tour are passive solar and all were built in the mid-1980’s; two of the homes are owner built. One home features a 6.9 kW photovoltaic system to supply the home’s energy, and has a solar thermal hot water system. One home features a geothermal heat pump. Two homes feature ductless mini-split heat pump systems.

The Canon plant in Gloucester has the largest array of rooftop solar photovoltaic panels in Virginia. Earlier in 2014 over 2000 panels of 250 W each were installed through the Dominion Solar Partnership Program. The system provides 500kW of power to the plant. A Dominion representative will show a video about the construction of the project and will have other visuals of the array.

The Center for Archaeology, Preservation, and Education (Fairfield Foundation) also installed a 4.8 kW solar photovoltaic panel array on their roof in 2013. The system will provide the energy needs for the building. They also participated in Dominion’s program.

Life Enrichment Sciences focuses on sustainable agriculture using aquaponics to grow organic produce year round. The self-sustaining system uses fish to supply the nutrients that the plants need to grow.