The city of Corvallis has received a $400,000 grant from Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program that will help pay for the construction of a 150-kilowatt solar energy facility at the Public Works Department near the Highway 99W overpass.
The project will provide 3.5 percent of the power the city needs for its wastewater treatment plant and will save the city $10,000 per year, said Public Works Director Mary Steckel.
“Our main reason for doing the project is to build to a stable, local energy source for the plant,” Steckel said.
The solar facility will help the city move toward its goal of reducing its 2004 carbon dioxide emissions by 5 percent by 2015 and by 15 percent by 2020.
The $510,000 project also includes $93,000 in funding from the Energy Trust of Oregon and $17,000 from the city.
Steckel said the city hopes to secure a contractor by July, construct the solar array during the summer and bring the facility online by the fall.
The terms of the grant, which was officially received by the Corvallis City Council in a resolution passed Dec. 16, require the city to complete the project by Dec. 31, 2014.
“The city’s goal is to pursue as many of those grant-funded projects as possible to increase our use of solar power in city facilities,” Steckel said.
The city also produces solar power at its downtown and Tunison fire stations.
Source: http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/city-gets-grant-to-install-solar-array-at-public-works/article_2270a116-685e-11e3-b55e-0019bb2963f4.html
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