Solar project nearing completion at Harrington Public Library

HARRINGTON — Following weeks of attaching mounts and solar panels on its steeply angled roof, the Harrington Public Library is on the cusp of generating 50%-60% of its electricity for free.

Energize Delaware financed the $219,300 project. Last May, city officials signed a contract with Paradise (Pennsylvania) Energy Solutions for the 84.39-kilowatt system and received utility and permitting approvals in September, said Brad Fox, a sales consultant with the contractor, on Thursday, April 23.

But inclement weather postponed the installation until April 8, and it was expected to be completed Friday. The system will be fully energized about two weeks from now, following an inspection and final interconnection approval from the Delaware Electric Cooperative.

“It was a very hard install, actually,” Mr. Fox said. “We started the project back in February or March, and we had to pull off because the ground and climate weren’t suitable. We were getting a lot of snow and mud, and decided to let the weather cooperate and give us some sunny days.”

The facility’s metal roof, which has a pitch of at least 40 degrees, also proved challenging for the installation team’s safety and progress, he continued.

The solar array consists of 174 panels, made by Houston, Texas-based SEG Solar. Each 3.5-by-6.5-foot panel can generate about 485 watts of electricity. The panels have a 30-year manufacturer’s warranty, and Paradise is offering a 10-year workmanship warranty and a decade’s worth of energy production tracking, Mr. Fox said.

The contractor has also installed solar panels at libraries in Smyrna, Bridgeville, Lewes, Selbyville, Georgetown and Frankford, and is working on a similar project in Rehoboth Beach, he added.

All electricity generated at the Harrington Public Library will be used to power that facility and not exported to the Delaware Electric Co-op’s grid. The library is in a nonexport area for the utility, meaning there is more than enough electricity and that entities there can’t add solar power to the grid, Mr. Fox stated.

The library, on Little Mastens Corner Road, opened in October 2024. Negotiations for the solar project began before the building was completed, said its director, Marleena Scott.

“We’re definitely looking forward to getting them into operation,” she said of the solar panels, adding that she hopes the effort will take the library toward “net zero” energy consumption.