Solar Canopies to be Built in Cronig’s Parking Lot By Spring

(VPC) is in the first phase a project to put two rows of solar electricity parking lot canopies in the parking lot in between and in Vineyard Haven. 

This 128KW canopy array will provide approximately 160,000 kilowatt hours of electricity to Cronig's every year and will also include electric vehicle charging stations for what they hope will help power an increasing fleet of electric vehicles in the years ahead. 

Erik Peckar of VPC said that they are hoping to begin construction by the early spring, pending approval by the (MVC) and the Town of Tisbury. “So far, all of the response we’ve received has been really positive,” said Peckar.

VPC hopes to ultimately construct an off-shore wind farm that is owned by the Island community, but until that becomes a reality, they are working on other ways for the community to own their own sources of renewable energy.

VPC plans to work with what is called disturbed land - land that’s already used for other things, such as parking lots. “We don’t want to put solar on usable farm land,” said Peckar.

The solar canopies will produce enough electricity to cover approximately one-quarter or Cronig’s electricity use every year. While there will be some economic savings for the host of the projects, Peckar states, "the big focus of Vineyard Power is to provide renewable electricity while keeping the benefits and control within our community."

VPC is also in the process of building a solar photovoltaic system on the Town of Aquinnah’s one acre capped landfill that they hope will be producing energy by the end of this coming summer.  The 50KW array will produce enough energy to power the Town's Municipal buildings including town offices, library, police and fire stations and public bathrooms as well as streetlights.

VPC membership is open to both year-round and seasonal Island residents. The membership fee is a one-time fee of $150, increasing quarterly until 2016, when it will be $950. VPC currently has 1,200 members. Their goal is to power the Island from renewable energy sources.