I was lucky enough to attend the opening of the nations largest Brightfield (old brownfield turned into a solar generation center). As I pulled up to the site I could see that this was still clearly an industrial area. Smoke and steam billowed from a near by smoke stack, showing the past, and in front of me I saw the future.

Row after row of perfectly aligned solar modules. Each standing shoulder to should marking in unison towards the future. It is a grand site to see.

The Brockton Brightfield started its journey over 6 years ago in 2000, and today with the help of federal state and local help it is providing clean renewable electricity to the city of Brockton.

I arrived on a cool but sunny morning and was blown away by the 3.7 acre 425-kilowatt (KW) system. Built on top of an old polluted and dangerous brown field the site now looks like a wonderful solar sculpture garden. I learned that the city also has plans of expanding this same setup across the street to another brownfield, bringing the overall capacity to 1 megawatt (MW).

The system was designed by Global Solar Inc. and uses 1395 Schott ASE 300 modules, making it a kick ass system. I can personally attest to the quality of Schott modules, having seen them in action several times. They make a sturdy double paned glass module. Its hard to get them, but if you can you are getting a quality product.

These solar panels were made in near by Billerica MA. They will generate an estimated 535 MW hours (!!) a year. Enough to power the entire neighborhood (approximately 71 homes.) I was also able to visit the solar production plant in Billerica and saw the amazing process by which raw silicon becomes a solar panel. Very cool stuff.

The Brockton brightfield will benefit the town of Brockton in many ways. The field will offset 589,570 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, about the same as removing 51 cars. It will also help to avoid about 1086 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 289 pounds of nitrogen oxide. All nasty stuff and all avoided by the use of solar.

The field will also be used as an educational model for the entire area school system. Children and adults will be able to come to the brightfield and learn about renewable energy and solar power. Fat Spaniel will be creating an educational complex at the site as well as a website that will allow people from all over the world to learn more about solar power.

The neighbors are also very happy about the brightfield. Before all they had to look at was a dangerous and polluted strip of land. They now have a clean and bright symbol of progress to look at instead.

“The Brockton Brightfield is the most forward thinking project I have seen built in the neighborhood during my lifetime.” Charles Vella local resident for over 58 years.

The field cost about 3 million dollars to produce. This money came from a variety of sources. $1.6 million as a city bond, $789,000 as a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and more than $1 million from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust. The EPA and NiSource also provided planning and educational grants for the project. I was really struck by just how many people had worked so hard for so long to get this project off the ground. It was amazing to see what a group of committed individuals can do.

Due to its size and scale the field came in a about 7 dollars a watt, 30% cheaper than your average PV installation. This means that by selling the energy it creates back to the grid the bright field will generate about $130,000 a year from the site. It should pay for itself in about 15-20 years using today’s energy prices.

The event and the tour afterwards were very informative, it was super sweet to see a laser cut solar cells out of a giant tube of silicon, unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures as its all super secret technology. But I may be sent some “clean” pictures soon. I did get to meet a lot of really cool people, the people from Renewable Energy Access were there, as well as Shawn from energy teachers. We talked about the brightfield and the future of solar.

It’s events like this that make you feel that the tide may be turning in our favor. The future of this country lies in renewable energy technology. When the rest of America catches up with Brockton we will all be better off.

For some more pictures of the field (including some very hi-rez .tif’s) check here.

If you would like to visit the field yourself check out directions here