Perdue completes first phase of solar panel project

Poultry producer Perdue Farms has completed phase 1 of its solar panel project that will help power its feed mill in Bridgeville.

Perdue Farms teamed up with Standard Solar Inc. and Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES) to construct one of the largest commercial solar systems on the East Coast.

Phase 1 of the construction, a massive 6,720 panel solar farm at Perdue’s feed mill in Bridgeville, is complete and Phase 2 is under way at Perdue’s corporate offices in Salisbury. The Bridgeville solar farm covers 360,000 square feet — more than seven football fields — and will produce 1.6 megawatts of power at capacity. The Salisbury phase of the project is expected to be completed this October.

Once completed, a total of 11,000 solar panels will be installed. When operating at maximum capacity, the panels will produce up to 90% of the energy required by both sites.

WGES owns the panels and sells the energy to Perdue, and Standard Solar was contracted to build the panels.