In Ennis: Forest Service office utilizing solar power

By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard - 10/23/2007

Chris Riley is pictured with Forest Service’s new solar panels at its office in Ennis. Nick Gevock / The Montana Standard

ENNIS — Chris Riley saw the potential to generate solar power every day here as the sun beat down intensely on July afternoons.

And the fisheries biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, along with some of his coworkers, pushed to get some solar panels on the agency’s office to help offset the electricity it uses.

“We were interested in trying to make a dent in our energy consumption,” Riley said recently at the office, standing next to two long panels of solar panels. “The good thing about this district is there are a lot of people interested in this.” This month the Forest Service installed the second solar panel on its office here. Riley initially took his idea to the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee, a group of officials in and around Yellowstone National Park.

Part of that group’s focus is to lighten the footprint people have on the land, including through energy use, in the region, said Mark Petroni, Ennis district ranger for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

The agency also got a hand from NorthWestern Energy, which through its universal systems benefits programs offers seed money for renewable energy projects.

It installed the first set of panels this summer, and then added the second set two weeks ago.

The panels are set up on a wood frame anchored to the ground on concrete footings. They have three adjustments for angle, one for summer when the sun is high overhead, a mid level for shoulder seasons and a third at a sharp angle for winter.

After seeing how much power the panels have generated, Riley estimates they will produce between 20,000 to 25,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year — about a third of the total annual consumption for the office.

Of course overcast days aren’t nearly as productive, with only 1.4 kilowatts being produced on a recent afternoon. But on the flip side, summer days can be incredibly productive, Petroni said.

“I’ve seen times when it was turning the meter backwards,” he said. “On a summer day, we’ll be putting power back into the grid.” Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached at nick.gevock@mtstandard.com.