Raleigh, Progress Energy, and Carolina Solar Energy team-up on project

From a recent Triangle Business Journal article: "The city of Raleigh, Progress Energy, and (Carolina Solar Energy of Durham) are working together on a large solar energy project that could be zapping power onto the grid by early 2010." The small 250 kilowatt solar array will be constructed at the E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant on top of a 30,000 sq.ft. concrete enclosure that holds treated water. The array will produce enough electricity annually to power 25 average homes and will avoid 264 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Just to let you know how much CO2 that is, according to the EPA, the average car driving 12,500 miles per year and getting 21.5mpg produces 11,450 lbs. of the stuff so this is like taking 51 cars off the road.

This agreement looks to benefit everyone involved including the citizens of Raleigh who will pay nothing. By law, energy companies must produce at least 3% of their power by means of renewable sources by 2012 so Progress is on board and Carolina Solar Power will lease the space from the city and will keep all tax credits and utility incentives. Should the city decide to buy the array in the future, it (we) can apply the proceeds of the lease agreement to do so.

This is the second solar photovoltaic project begun this year by the city. A larger 1.7 megawatt facility will be installed at the Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant by Raleigh's own Southern Energy Management and will produce enough electricity to power 130 homes reducing CO2 emissions by 1,300 metric tons (250 cars) annually. The parties involved have the same type agreements as in the Johnson Plant plan.

This got me thinking. Where else could the city

and/or Wake County place PV (photovoltaic) arrays? I'll give my 2 ideas. The first is on top of the Raleigh Convention Center. I mean, look at it. A huge flat space on a very high-profile building. And I would think that having this "green" feature would be a selling point for attracting future conventions to our city. My second idea could really be called my 2nd through 160th ideas. I would love to see a program where solar PV panels are added to the roofs of most, if not all, Wake County Public School locations. For work I visit most WCPSS schools and almost all are built in what amounts to a field with

unobstructed sunlight and roofs tailor-made for PV electricity capturing possibilities. How about a plan where Progress Energy or maybe one of these local solar installers foots the bill for the installations and then rightfully collects the tax incentives, credits, and compensation for the power production until the projects are paid-for. At that point, power produced can be used by the school to reduce energy bills or sold back to Progress Energy to produce a source of revenue for the school system to reduce overall costs. All the while, we have installed working laboratories at the schools to help teach the kids about the environment, physics, engineering, chemistry, ...