As Gardiner Road, Wiscasset travelers might have noticed Oct. 14 and 15, a contractor was replacing part of the roof on Morris Farm's circa 1840 barn. But passersby won't be seeing some of the new shingles for long. The farm has decided to go solar.
Northbound Gardiner Road travelers have a view of the part of the barn roof where the panels will go; the panels will serve as a demonstration of solar power for passersby, Merry Fossel said. "We're lucky enough that the south side of our roof just so happens to be visible (from the road)." Les Fossel, a building restoration expert, said adding solar panels will not impact the barn's historical value. Buildings are supposed to adapt to their owners' uses, he said. Plans call for the roof to get 60 panels, measuring about 2.5 by 5 feet, in five rows of 12 panels each, before the end of the year, said Sam Lavallee, a ReVision program manager. Each panel has a silicon layer inside aluminum-framed, tempered glass, Lavallee said.
Northbound Gardiner Road travelers have a view of the part of the barn roof where the panels will go; the panels will serve as a demonstration of solar power for passersby, Merry Fossel said. "We're lucky enough that the south side of our roof just so happens to be visible (from the road)."
Les Fossel, a building restoration expert, said adding solar panels will not impact the barn's historical value. Buildings are supposed to adapt to their owners' uses, he said.
Plans call for the roof to get 60 panels, measuring about 2.5 by 5 feet, in five rows of 12 panels each, before the end of the year, said Sam Lavallee, a ReVision program manager. Each panel has a silicon layer inside aluminum-framed, tempered glass, Lavallee said.
Full article is available here: http://www.wiscassetnewspaper.com/article/morris-farm-going-solar/60600
