Politics & Government

The Sun Shines at City Hall And Energy is Generated

Mayor snips the ribbon for 165 solar panels.

At noon Tuesday, the fog still hovered at the base of Mount Diablo a couple miles to the northwest on the roof of City Hall, the sun was out and pumping power.

Mayor Cindy Silva snipped the ribbon with her oversized scissors and the city began using solar power generated from rooftop panels on City Hall.

"Let the sun shine," said Silva. "We want to model what can be done to conserve energy."

A solar audit of city facilities found that the most cost-efficient for solar energy would be City Hall, Silva said, with its many computers and floor space being heated and air-conditioned.

The city, with an assist from a federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant and a grant from the California Solar Initiative, has put 165 panels on the City Hall roof. The cost was $254,780 and it is expected to save about $10,000 a year and handle about 5 percent of the City Hall usage, said architect Chris Erdle.


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