The Spearfish, S.D. property installed 234 solar panels to help assist with the energy used by the club’s irrigation system for the back nine holes. The system will generate a yearly average of 120 MWh (megawatt hours), around 43 percent of the property’s annual usage for the irrigation system, and should cut the club’s electrical bills by over $13,000 per year.
Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club and Resort in Spearfish, S.D., recently installed 234 solar panels, each about six-by-three-feet along the north side of the irrigation pond on Hole 18, reported the Black Hills Pioneer.
Greg Brandriet, the property’s Superintendent, described that the photovoltaic system was installed to offset the energy usage of the club’s irrigation system for its back nine holes, reported the Pioneer.
“[The wells] currently provide power to the pumps for the irrigation system and the well we use to fill the pond,” Brandriet said. “The system will generate a yearly average of 120 MWh [megawatt hours], around 43 percent of our annual usage for the irrigation system. This should cut our electrical bills by over $13,000 per year.”
Brandriet added that the system would produce an excess of electricity during January and February, when that energy would be returned to the grid. In the peak usage months of July and August, the system would provide as little as 25 percent, the Pioneer.
“In the world of golf, there is a growing movement to become more sustainable and enhance the many benefits golf has for the environment,” Brandriet said. “This system highlights the forefront of this national movement into alternative energy and environmental stewardship and also strengthens our dedication to the local community.”
The rear of the solar panels are visible from Interstate 90, near Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club and Resort’s location near Exit 17, the Pioneer.
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