Friday, October 29, 2010

Stimulus funds pay for solar power

Hailey wastewater facility will consume 100 percent of energy from 24-kilowatt system


By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

These solar panels were installed recently to provide electricity for Hailey’s wastewater treatment plant in Woodside subdivision. Photo by David N. Seelig

Federal stimulus funding made possible the construction this summer of a solar array to provide electricity for Hailey's wastewater treatment plant. The plant is the largest single user of energy in all city facilities and buildings.

The 24.2 kW photovoltaic array was paid for with money from a $234,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant secured by the city earlier this year from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Idaho Office of Energy Resources. The grant will also be used to build an energy recovery unit to reclaim heat from natural gas used on the site.

The wastewater plant will consume all the electricity generated by the solar panels, helping to offset average monthly electric bills of $7,000.

The city of Hailey has led the way in the Wood River Valley with regard to green building practices since adopting the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement in February 2007, joining more than 700 other municipalities in the United States committed to meeting or beating 1990 greenhouse-gas emission levels.

The worldwide emission of greenhouse gases is blamed for global warming.

< <

From 2005 to 2007, the city saved $25,000 by retrofitting compact fluorescent light bulbs in all city buildings. The installation of programmable thermostats in all city buildings has reduced consumption of natural gas.

Employee commuting by walking, biking, carpooling and taking the bus resulted in a 23 percent decrease in carbon emissions from automobiles during the same period.

In 2008, with help from the Environmental Resource Center in Ketchum, Hailey got its "carbon footprint," a baseline measure of greenhouse gas emissions from city buildings, vehicles and facilities. City officials found that the Woodside wastewater treatment facility was the biggest source of greenhouse emissions in the city's overall carbon footprint.

The facility is the largest industrial operation in the city and requires natural gas to heat five buildings. It also consumes electricity to run pumps, compressors and other machines.

According to the city's website, the solar panels and energy recovery unit are expected to eliminate 41.8 metric tons per year of CO2 greenhouse gasses normally produced by the facility.

During the 25-year life span of the project, the city hopes to save $864,000 in energy costs, with full project cost payback occurring in seven years.

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.