Oregon Ice Arena

LOCATION: Oregon, Wisconsin
CAPACITY: 190 kW
COMPLETED: December 2018
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:

The Oregon Ice Arena is a non-profit 501(c)(3) facility in Oregon, WI. with the mission of providing the best ice skating experience possible by maintaining a clean and safe environment for all ages. Ice arenas have to operate heat pumps every day of the year in order to keep the air temperature near the ice as close to freezing as possible. The hottest days of the year take the most compressor activity so not only will this array use the sun’s energy to lower the arena’s electric use, the fact that the solar array takes up over 12,500 square-feet of south-facing roof means that it also shades the roof from the sun. Less direct sun exposure means that the interior experiences less thermal gain on hot days, saving dramatically on cooling costs during peak demand. In fact, the project will generate about 25% of the ice arena’s electricity use from 560 flush mounted solar panels.

See the 1/30/19 Oregon Observer article on this project.