Water Board Backs Solar-Power System for Building
Posted on: Wednesday, 21 May 2008, 09:01 CDT
By Max B. Baker, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
May 21--FORT WORTH -- As part of a continuing effort to "go green," the Tarrant Regional Water District voted Tuesday to spend $1.47 million on a solar power system for the new 26,000-square-foot facility under construction east of its downtown headquarters.
The 1,360-panel system will produce 238 kilowatts of power and will be one of the largest of its kind in the state. It will be on the roof of the $9.9 million Information Technology and Engineering facility that is scheduled to be open in 2009.
The district is buying the system from Standard Renewable Energy of Houston.
The 30-pound solar panels will feed energy into the state's grid.
But, since they will produce more power than the building needs, the district will earn credits for purchasing power during the times it is not operating.
Designed to last up to 40 years, the system is expected to pay for itself within 18 years, said Michael Witthaus, the water district's materials manager.
"I think it is a wonderful deal," Witthaus said. "It is a large project and one that didn't have to be done."
Mike Siciliano, area manager for Standard Renewable Energy, said the solar array system being sold to the water district is 20 percent larger than any other system in the state. He said a San Antonio business has a 200-kilowatt system.
He said the water district's decision may convince other public agencies to consider alternative energy sources. The water district's solar panels will prevent up to 244 metric tons of carbon emissions from being released into the environment annually, Siciliano said.
Hal Sparks, vice president of the water board, raised questions about the payback period for the system but still voted for the equipment.
"I think it is positive, and it speaks well for our organization being progressive on renewable energy," he said.
Earlier this year, the water district became the first public water utility in Texas to join the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partners program by agreeing to use 11.7 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy over the next three years.
Buying renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power will offset nearly 16 million pounds of carbon emissions -- the equivalent of nearly 7,500 tons of waste -- that would have been pumped into the environment by a conventional power source.
BY THE NUMBERS
By going solar and fully utilizing the roof space of the new building, the Tarrant Regional Water District's solar power system will prevent 244 metric tons of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere annually. That is the equivalent to carbon emissions from burning 27,767 gallons of gasoline or the energy use of 32.4 typical homes.
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Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)
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