Huge solar project in Delaware up and running

More than 34-thousand solar panels in Dover are soaking up rays, converting all of that sunshine into 10-megawatts of electricity.

The 103-acre Dover SUN Park is Delaware’s largest community-scale solar project; it’s also a project that Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Secretary Collin O’Mara says is putting Delaware on the “green” map.

“The biggest projects in the country right now are in places like California, places like Florida, and really a state like Delaware to have a project of this scale it shows that the economics work and that the economic development piece of it works, it’s really gonna have folks take notice in many of the other parts of the country.”

The ground-mounted solar power system is estimated to generate enough electricity to power more than 15-hundred Delaware homes and offset more than 12-thousand tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

“The Dover SUN Park helped put people to work and is producing clean energy during the times when power use is at its peak,” said Governor Jack Markell. “This project really shows what can be accomplished when so many people in the community work together.”

SunPower Corporation designed and built the Dover SUN Park, installing a tracker system that allows the panels to follow the sun’s movement for maximum generation.

LS Power and SunPower Corp. own the system and developed the Dover SUN Park in partnership with the City of Dover, Delmarva Power, Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility and Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation.

First featured the Dover SUN Park during 6-month construction phase in May.