Solar panels are mounted on the roof of the Logan Township United Fire Department building along Grandview Road. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The Logan Township United Fire Department on Grandview Road has installed a solar array on its station roof that will more than cover the building’s electrical needs, paying for itself within about six years, with the help of rebates and debt reduction grants from the state.

The roof cost $119,000, all but $5,000 of which United borrowed from a local bank, with capital reserve covering that remainder, board President Jeff Blake said.

Installed by Groundhog Solar of Altoona, the 129-panel system can generate 61,000 kilowatt hours per year, enough to offset the station’s needs, while producing excess to be sold to the grid, according to Blake.

The panels are on the south-facing side of the gable-roofed station, attached to an assembly that is clamped onto the standing seams of the metal roof, according to Blake.

Attaching the panels to the roof was preferable aesthetically than a ground-mounted array, and will help protect the panels from damage, Blake said.

Federal rebates should cover 30% of the cost of the array, while fire service grants available annually from the Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner’s office can be used for debt service reduction, according to Blake.

While this area is approaching the least productive time of the year for solar, because the sun is low in the sky and the number of daylight hours is shrinking, the array is still generating electricity, according to Blake.

At mid-morning on a recent sunny day, it was producing 21.9 kWhs — 18.5 kWhs of which were going to the grid, Blake said.

The array also generates electricity, albeit less, on cloudy days, he said.

On those days, it has cut grid consumption by 50% to 60%, he said.

The organization can monitor production from the array — and from the individual panels — through a cellphone application, according to Blake.

The board of directors began discussing how to reduce electrical costs about five years ago, Blake said.

They replaced the station lighting with LED equipment, which helped a little, he said.

The board started looking into the feasibility of installing a solar array early this year.

The organization contracted with Groundhog Solar in August.

Work began in September, and the system went “live” on Nov. 20.

The current roof is likely to outlast the 25-year expected life of the array, Blake said.