Photovoltaic System

PV System Generates Clean & Affordable Electricity

Hennepin County provides a leadership role in generating clean and affordable electricity from a variety of renewable energy sources, including solar energy. LHB was the designer and engineer of record for the photovoltaic array system installed on the roof of the Medina Public Works Building, which, at the time of construction, was the largest PV system in the state.

LHB provided a feasibility study to determine if the building could accept a nominal 100 kW PV system, and then developed a method to install a solar electric energy system rated to 97 kW on the Public Works roof. LHB worked with solar suppliers to determine which system concept would work best within the space restrictions of the roof. In addition to generating approximately 5% of the building’s energy, the array benefits the environment by saving approximately 100 tons of carbon dioxide emissions on an annual basis and more than 2,500 tons of greenhouse gas over the life of the array system.