Niles-Maine Library Moves Forward on Solar Panels Project

At the January board meeting, the Board of Trustees awarded a contract to Dewberry, a solar power engineering firm, to provide solar design services to the Library. The total amount of the contract is $19,900.

The Library plans to install a solar array on the roof of the building which will eliminate the need to purchase electricity from the local utility. Currently, the Library’s monthly usage averages around 90,000 kWh per month and is budgeted at $85,000 per year.

The new solar array will have a positive impact on the environment. According to the EPA calculator for greenhouse gases, for each year that the Library avoids using conventionally generated power, 764 metric tons of carbon dioxide will not be pumped into the atmosphere. That amounts to 19,100 tons of carbon dioxide over the 25-year useful life of the array. To put this number in perspective, that is the same amount of carbon dioxide generated by 165 passenger vehicles driven each year for 25 years.

There are economic benefits as well. Over the 25-year useful life, the solar array is expected to help the Library avoid payment of up to $2.1 million in energy cost. When compared to the estimated expected cost of the solar array which is approximately $400,000, the net savings is expected to be up to $1.7 million.

The Library administration is currently investigating grants and rebates which will reduce the amount of investment in the solar array and further enhance the net savings.

The solar array project is being done in combination with a roof replacement project which is expected to cost $900,000. Although the funds for the roof replacement combined with the solar array project have already been earmarked and placed in the Library’s special reserve, the energy savings will appear in the general fund which will decrease the annual operating budget.

“This is the best of both worlds,” said Executive Director Susan Dove Lempke. “The initial project investment is already put aside so there will not be an increase in the Library tax levy and the benefits of the project will reduce the Library’s operating budget.”