When you come to SEI’s Paonia, Colorado training facility for your hands-on lab experience, the solar PV systems you see throughout our facility are all part of the renewable energy magic that keeps our non-profit operations going!

We have approximately 28kw of Solar PV operating here at SEI and we produce approximately 40,000 kWh per year (40MWh). We recently received a check for overproduction from our utility, Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA), for $745.07 at $0.075 per kWh which is approximately 10 MWh of annual overproduction!

Our annual consumption for the entire facility is around 30,000kWh per year or 30MWh which includes SEI’s and SEI Professional Services’ (SEIPS) offices. That means we are generating 125% of our annual consumption for SEI and SEIPS combined!

This accounts for all the electricity for the facility and operations, including AC in the summer, all heating in the winter (we also have solar thermal systems operating), and all the free electric vehicles charging stations we have on campus.

We are also getting ready to add an additional 10kW of Solar PV with the new carport here on campus. So when you come to SEI and get your training on all of those hands-on lab stations throughout the facility – you can feel proud that the electricity produced is helping change the world through SEI’s non-profit educational mission!