Solar lighting system installed at Winneshiek County Recycling's Freeport drop-off

The Winneshiek County Recycling Department has installed a one-of-a-kind, off-the-grid solar lighting system in its public drop-off facility at the county recycling center in the Freeport Industrial Park.

The massive increase in night time traffic at the facility made the addition of lights a necessity. The system was activated just in time to be ready for the large influx of holiday related recycling materials.

The system was designed by the recycling department staff and their electrician, Brett Knapp. It runs on two 275 watt panels with a battery pack and an inverter to power the variety of LED lights positioned throughout the building. Motion sensors turn on the first set of lights as a car pulls up to the facility.  The other lights come on as one walks throughout the building.  The lights turn off automatically shortly after leaving.  A meter system that the public can use displays the electrical data.

Recycling department staff know of no other recycling drop off facility like it in the country. Most solar systems that are installed have an attachment to the electric grid--this one is a stand-alone system. The system can be expanded with several more panels if needed.

The material for the battery pack platform and the conduit came from the salvage project that the recycling department did on the North Building at Wellington Place earlier in the year. Many other new enhancements that will run on the panels, such as informational video screens and traffic warning devices, will also be added in the near future.

Simply running an electric cable overhead or trenching one under the parking lot was considered but going with solar was a better option overall. Although the primary mission of the recycling department is waste reduction, it often has to cross over into other environmental issues, such as energy conservation and water and air quality. This is just one of many energy efficiency improvements that have been made to the recycling plant over the past several years.

Anyone with questions can contact the Winneshiek County Recycling Department at 563-382-6514, via email at recycling@co.winneshiek.ia.us, or through the Facebook page.