Library debuts solar project with community talk

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

By Grace Hammond

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Summer may be over, but there’s still plenty of time to soak up sunshine at the library.

The library hosts a panel discussion of its just-launched solar project 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday in its Ordway Auditorium. The program, “Library Goes Solar,” is free and open to the public.

“We’ll have a continuing opportunity for people to learn about solar at the library,” said Dail Barbour, facility manager at the library. “This is kind of a roll-out of our informational effort.”

The library installed the first 40 solar panels last weekend. This set of panels will generate an estimated 10,488 kilowatthours per year, according to a library press release – more energy than it takes to power the average American home. The ultimate goal is to install 200 panels over a period of five years to generate up to 30 percent of the library’s energy.

The project could be a springboard for other solar projects in Teton County. The library will collect long-range data about the performance of the panels in the local climate. Homeowners and businesses may then use the data to coordinate their own solar projects.

“We feel that there’s a lot of opportunity to educate the community about the project,” Barbour said. “There isn’t a whole lot of consistent data coming out of northwest Wyoming right now.” Something like a solar map of Wyoming that calculates the amount of sunshine throughout the year and other information could be a foundation for other northwest Wyoming solar projects.

The event is more than a meet and greet. Stakeholders will be there, but so will local experts, sharing knowledge that could benefit the whole county. Speakers will discuss the library’s new solar panels, the world of solar possibilities available to the library and the area, and countywide efforts to go green. It will be the first of several public programs that involve the community in the library’s data-collecting efforts. The library plans to offer a “how-to go solar” seminar for adults in February.

“We think the data-gathering and educational opportunities for us as a public library are unique,” Barbour said.

Teton County Commissioner Ben Ellis will kick off the panel discussion by talking about how the solar project fits in with county government’s efforts to increase energy conservation. Panelists include the library’s solar project manager, Charlie Woodward of Natural Resource Co., Solar Project General Contractor Porgy McClelland of PDP Inc. and Lower Valley Energy’s Brian Tanabe.

After the presentation, there will be a live demonstration of how the library will track its solar power.

The project has been made possible by a partnership with the Teton County Library Foundation, Lower Valley Energy, the Wyoming Business Council and Teton County. The library has also received several grants to fund different phases of the project, including a $20,000 award from 1% for the Tetons.

Barbour suggested the project to the staff a little more than a year ago. She and other employees brainstormed funding for the project. They then approached the library board with a plan that centered on public and private partnerships and grant awards.

“In the area there was an increasing emphasis on going green,” she said. “We were influenced by that. We were already doing a lot – recycling and using environmentally good products when we could get them – then we said, ‘We’ve got one of the biggest roofs in town. Why don’t we do solar?’”

For more information, contact Barbour at the library at 733-2167, ext. 121.

Photo by DEREK DILUZIO
(right to left) Poy Louie (Jackson Hole Electric),  Porgy McClelland (PDP Inc), Josh Haney, and Charlie Woodward (Natural Resources).

PERMALINK:
Library debuts solar project with community talk | Planet JH News Article: General Environment

Leave a Comment