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Solar Energy Services
1514 Jabez Run
Millersville, Maryland 21108

info@solarsaves.net

410.923.6090

Solar in Critical Areas – Maryland, Virginia and Delaware

Solar Panels, Solar Energy, Solar in Critical Areas AnnapolisWhat is the Critical Area?

The Critical Area includes all land within 1,000 feet of Maryland’s tidal waters and tidal wetlands. Along our precious shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, we have had many homeowners looking to take advantage of enhancing their waterfront landscape with solar panels.

Aside from the clear economic advantages, we are in solar for all the right reasons; to protect the environment, preserve our natural resources, and to leave the world a better place. With that said, installing solar in the critical areas encourages us to comply with two important regulations that ensure shoreline preservation.

Lot Coverage

In the critical area, you are allotted a certain amount of lot coverage depending on the size of your lot. Our first step in the process is to prepare a “Lot Coverage Calculation” worksheet that indicates how much lot coverage you have available and ensures that there is legally enough space to account for the square footage of your new solar panels.

Buffer Management Plan

Though lot coverage is not impacted by solar installations outside of the critical area, the total area of additional lot coverage leads us to our next calculation. The Buffer Management Plan requires that every square foot of additional lot coverage is mitigated by planting either grasses, shrubs, or trees within 100 feet of the shoreline. The goal for this mitigation is to slow down the erosion of the shoreline, and we are big supporters of this mission. There is some flexibility with the types of flora that can be planted in this area, so we consult the homeowner in selecting preferred plants for their new shoreline oasis.

Though this process involves a few more steps in terms of permits, we have become subject matter experts thanks to our waterfront solar supporters in Kent County, Queen Anne’s County, Talbot County, Dorchester County and Anne Arundel County. Every county has a slightly different twist on their permitting requirements, and this helps local companies like SES thrive.

Press Release: Solar at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

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Press Statement
6-15-15

Solar Service, Home Solar Panels, Chesapeake MDCBF Merrill Center to Install 106 kW Solar System

(ANNAPOLIS, MD) The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and Solar Energy Services, Inc. (SES) announced an agreement today for SES to design and build a 106 kW, grid-tied solar photovoltaic system at the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, CBF’s headquarters.

The Merrill Center rooftop solar system will include more than 370 solar panels from US manufacturer SolarWorld, as well as inverter systems from Solar Edge. The panels will be installed primarily on the available roof tops, but the design also calls for some unique solar shade structures to provide additional benefits to the facility and its occupants.

SES president Rick Peters shared that SES is pleased to participate in this marquee project. “I know personally that CBF has led the way on sustainable initiatives in our region for a very long time. It is an honor to be selected to construct this project, which will help advance CBF’s message and their environmental stewardship.”

The solar system is projected to produce more than 133 MWh of electricity annually, enough to power more than 10 average Maryland homes. This will significantly offset the facility’s consumption of traditional electricity.

“While we have had solar panels at the Merrill Center in the past, we are adding this new capacity because it is now more affordable as well as more efficient,” said CBF Vice President Mary Tod Winchester. “The new array will generate enough electricity to provide one third of the power for heating, cooling, and other needs of the more than 100 staff who work here. As a non-profit, we will not benefit from the many tax incentives available, but we encourage other individuals and businesses to closely examine the costs and benefits of adding solar generation.”

The project is expected to be completed before the end of this summer.

About Solar Energy Services, Inc.

Solar Energy Services, Inc. (solarsaves.net) designs, builds and services solar power systems for institutional, commercial, and residential customers. The firm was founded by 37 year solar industry veteran Roger Perry who has longstanding ties to the communities served by SES. Based in Millersville Maryland, the 21 person firm operates in Maryland, DC, and Virginia.

About Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Founded in 1967, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (www.cbf.org) is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay. Serving as a watchdog, we fight for effective, science-based solutions to the pollution degrading the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. Our motto, “Save the Bay,” is a regional rallying cry for pollution reduction throughout the Chesapeake’s six-state, 64,000-square-mile watershed, which is home to more than 17 million people and 3,000 species of plants and animals.With offices in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia and 15 field centers, CBF leads the way in restoring the Bay and its rivers and streams. Over the last four decades, we have created broad understanding of the Bay’s poor health, engaged public leaders in making commitments to restore the Chesapeake, and fought successfully to create a new approach to cleanup that features real accountability-the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint

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