CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY, 2015. Tick Tock Energy, Inc. recently completed a hybrid 51 kW solar and Bergey wind turbine installation for the for NECA-IBEW Local 601 electrical training center. The solar and wind installation is designed so the electrical output serves both the Joint Apprenticeship Training Center (JATC) training facility and the IBEW’s Union Hall Office. The power generated is estimated to reduce the two office’s total electrical purchases by approximately 87%. More importantly however, the JATC will utilize the installation to support it’s on-going training program for many years to come.
Besides conceptualizing and managing this project to completion, Tick Tock also helped the JATC obtain $134,000 in grant funding for the project from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Bob Withers, JATC Director noted “Tick Tock Energy has been great to work with. They’re good people who are interested in doing a good job. They took the project from the beginning to the end, and this project went extremely well.”
The project consisted of 41 kW of capacity of several types of solar arrays and a 10 kW Bergey wind turbine mounted on an 85-ft tall monopole tower. The solar arrays consist of a ground-mount array, wall-mounted array, rooftop mounted array and a 2-axis AllEarth solar tracker. The different types of mounting systems and inverters along with both wind and solar technologies provide apprentice electricians a real-world example of how these systems are wired and constructed. “We’re very proud of this project and its role it will play to support the education of future electricians that will be working on solar and wind installations in the future” added Eric Pals, President of Tick Tock Energy.