Future Sauk County Fair Dates
Monday July 07 to Sunday July 13, 2025
Monday July 06 to Sunday July 12, 2026
Monday July 12 to Sunday July 18, 2027
Monday July 10 to Sunday July 16, 2028
Monday July 09 to Sunday July 15, 2029
Monday July 08 to Sunday July 14, 2030
Monday July 07 to Sunday July 13, 2031
Monday July 12 to Sunday July 18, 2032
Sauk County Fair Solar Installations
RENEW Wisconsin’s Solar for Good program awarded a grant to The Friends of Sauk County Fairgrounds in 2020.
Farmers have always used solar energy to grow crops. County Fairs have deep agricultural roots. Since June 2021, the Sauk County Fairgrounds has offset much of its electrical use from 52 bifacial panels in two solar arrays, one ground mounted, one roof mounted, with a combined rated capacity of 19.24 kilowatts (kW) DC. This system, installed by All Sky Energy LLC, and funded by the Friends of the Sauk County Fairgrounds has produced close to its projected annual production of 26,810 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity which is about the amount used by 3 average Wisconsin homes. The combined PV systems are connected to the grid and produce the equivalent of about 40% of the 68,000-kWh annual use of electricity by the Sauk County Fairgrounds.
The Sauk County Fair, roof mounted PV system has 32 bifacial panels with a rated capacity of 11.84 kilowatts (kW) DC. The system is projected to produce approximately 16,083 kWh (kilo-Watt hours) of electricity in an average year. This is equivalent to the electricity use of about 1.6 average Wisconsin homes.
The Sauk County Fair, ground mounted PV system has 20 bifacial panels on two separate pedestals with a rated capacity of 7.4 kilowatts (kW) DC. The system is expected to produce approximately 10,727 kWh (kilo-Watt hours) of electricity in an average year. This is about 10% more than the electricity use of an average Wisconsin home. Each of its bifacial panels measures 39 inches wide and 77.5 inches long with a surface area of almost 21 square feet on one side. Together the 20 panels have about 420 square feet of surface area on one side. The panel tilt angle of the ground mount system can be easily adjusted several times a year to optimize the sun angle and minimize snow accumulation to maximize production from the system.
Sauk County Fair Solar Electrical Generating System—The Basics
Solar systems that generate electricity are called photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Kilowatts (kW) and Kilo-watt hours (kWh) are measures of electrical capacity and energy production. A kW is a measure of instantaneous capacity. A 10-kW solar PV system running at full capacity for one hour will produce 10 kWh which is a measure of energy or electricity production. The cost of energy delivered is measured in cents per kWh. Most Sauk County residents buy electricity from an electric utility at a price of about 13 cents per kWh.
PV systems don’t directly heat water or air.
For a grid connected PV system, the four main components are:
Solar panels (expected life of more than 25 years)
Inverters (convert direct current from the solar panels to alternating current and are expected to last 10-20 years before replacement)
Racking (holds panels on the roof or ground and expected to last more than 25 years)
Balance of system (includes conduit, wire, electrical breakers etc.)
Monofacial vs bifacial panels
Traditional (monofacial) solar panels capture sunlight on one light-absorbing side, and light energy that cannot be captured is reflected away. This is not the case with bifacial solar panels- instead, these types of panels have solar cells on both sides. This enables the panels to absorb light from the back and the front. Practically speaking, this means that a bifacial solar panel can absorb light that is reflected off the ground or another material.
Under optimal conditions, bifacial solar panels can produce up to 20% more electricity than a similar size monofacial panel.
Considering solar PV for your home? Information is provided as a courtesy from Sauk County Solar Organizations and no guarantees are made on current costs.
The following information may help you think about a PV system for your home. Contact solar providers for a more specific assessment of your situation including a financial analysis considering incentives and tax advantages.
• The average Wisconsin single-family home uses nearly 10,000 KWH of electricity a year. A 7-10 kWh DC PV system could generate the amount of electricity used by the average Wisconsin home in a year.
• A properly located (free from shade) stationary 1 kW-DC (direct current) system can be expected to produce about 1200 kWh in a year in Wisconsin using mono-facial panels or as much as 1200-1440 kWh using bifacial panels under optimum conditions.
• A seven-kW system needs about 420 square feet of solar collection surface which will consist of 20 panels with each about 77” high and 40” wide. Each panel weighs about 50 lbs.
Cost For an on-grid PV system, the three main costs include:
1. Solar panels and racking (about 65% of installed cost with expected life of 35 + years with little or no maintenance)
2. Invertors (which convert direct current to alternating current accounting for about 10% of the installed cost of the system. Inverters are expected to last 10 to 15 years.)
3. Labor currently contributes about 25% of the installed cost.
Currently, the installed cost of a small (up to 20 KW) stationary sloped roof system is about $3,000 per kW of rated capacity.
Battery backup and off grid systems typically have a fourth component—batteries which can cost as much as the above three components together.
Lithium batteries are typically used now because they are low maintenance and longer lasting. Older Battery backup and off grid systems commonly used lead acid batteries which need regular maintenance and may need to be replaced about every seven years. If you have lead acid batteries now, consider replacing them with a Lithium battery when they need to be replaced.
Tax incentives for all solar systems
Until 2032, owners of a new PV system can offset 30% of the initial cost of their system with a 30% investment tax credit from their federal income tax bill. All of this credit can be claimed in the year of installation if one’s income tax bill is high enough. Alternatively, the credit can be spread across as many as 20 tax years.