http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_16600424
Funds made available under the
2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Construction has started at the Castro Valley Library
to make it Alameda County's newest on-site solar
power system. Once the solar array is fully
operational early next year, it is expected to provide
nearly all of the library's electrical needs -- and at
times even export excess electricity to surrounding
neighborhoods.
"This is a fabulous project," said Carolyn Moskovitz,
the library's manager. "This project (not only) used
stimulus money in a responsible way to reduce
global warming, but also created jobs while making
the county greener."
Alameda County has a long history of implementing
renewable energy systems at its facilities.
Since 2002, the county has installed 10 on-site
solar power systems -- including those at the Santa
Rita Jail in Dublin, the Juvenile Justice Center in San
Leandro and the Fremont Hall of Justice -- equaling
3.2 megawatts of renewable electricity. The county's
goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
county operations 15 percent by 2020.
Matt Muniz, the county's energy program manager,
said when completed, the system annually will
generate more than 400,000 kilowatt-hours of clean
energy and eliminate the library's electrical needs
from Pacific Gas & Electric during afternoon hours.
In fact, during most summer days, the system will
produce more power than needed and will export
excess renewable electricity. The power will be
credited back to the county by spinning its electric
meter backward, and should make up for any energy
used from PG&E during evenings -- when solar
paneling does not produce much energy.
"Our goal is to make the library a net-zero building,"
Muniz said.
The county board of supervisors awarded the
project's $1.7 million contract to Sun Light & Power
of Berkeley in May. The project is being funded by a
1 percent loan from the California Energy
Commission -- funds made available under the
2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In addition, over the next five years the county will
receive $500,000 from PG&E under its California
Solar Initiative Incentive Program. The loan will be
paid back during the next 15 years with savings
from the solar-generated electricity.
Moskovitz said that on most days the construction
work will be done before the library opens so it
doesn't distract patrons. She added that solar
paneling installation work should go smoothly
because it was planned for the library, which
opened late last year.
"We were always hoping to do this, so the building
was designed with that in mind," Moskovitz said.
She said one of the more interesting features of the
project will allow library users to monitor the
energy produced and used by the library.
Sun Light & Power will install a monitoring system to
show the solar array's performance on a flat-screen
monitor in the library's lobby.
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