The DuPont Experimental Station, the R&D facility of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, completed renovation project of its Innovation Center in Wilmington, Delaware, in mid-2008. The project included the installation of a solar energy system which was funded in part by the State of Delaware’s Green Energy Program. The photovoltaic (PV) panels of the system, which are located on the roof of the building, collect solar energy and convert it to provide 30 kilowatts of power each day.
It provides enough electricity to power all of the lights in the building. The system is expected to have a useful life of at least 25 years.
The photovoltaic panels, manufactured by Evergreen Solar, Inc., consist of various products developed by DuPont including DuPont™ Solamet® thick film paste, which is applied to the silicon cells and fired in place to collect the electric current; DuPont™ PV5100 series ethylene vinyl acetate photovoltaic encapsulating resins; and DuPont™ Tedlar® PV fluoropolymer film, which is used as a weatherable and protective layer in the polymeric backsheet .
The Innovation Center solar energy system is the second system of its kind installed at a DuPont site by DuPont Facilities Services & Real Estate (FS&RE).
As part of our sustainable growth mission, it is important that we consider installing sources of energy such as photovoltaics, solar hot water and wind as viable, economic and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, said Harvey Wishkoff, solar system project sponsor, FS&RE.