The News-Herald

By Caitlin Fertal
CFertal@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @NHCaitlin

The city of Euclid is continuing to expand its efforts toward a greener lifestyle with the installation of solar panels on two city buildings.

The rooftops of both City Hall and the Euclid Public Library began generating solar energy in May and now that installation is complete, they are expected to supply up to 16 percent of the overall power that each building requires.

A total of about 640 panels were installed on the buildings by Ohio Cooperative Solar, a company who now leases the rooftops in order for the city and library to save on expenses.

Both facilities entered into a 15-year contract with the company to purchase electricity at a fixed rate of 12 cents per kilowatt hour, said Frank Pietravoia, community services and economic development director for the city.

“If you think about, it in most cases so far utilities go up each year —  maybe not a lot but they continue to go up each year, so by having a fixed cost for 15 years we know that we’ll be saving funds because as energy costs go up from FirstEnergy a portion of the electricity that’s generated through the panels will stay at that cost.”

The city roughly estimates that they may save up to $25,000 at city hall over the 15-year period, Pietravoia said.

“There are a lot of assumptions built into that number but I think it’s a reasonable way to look at it,” he said.

The roof at city hall is completely covered with the panels, while the library utilized about one third of its roof.

Neither city hall nor the library had to cover the expenses of the installation and will benefit from the fixed rate over the years, officials said.

“It was a win-win situation among all the parties,” Library Director Donna L. Perdzock said. “We didn’t have to extend library money from our budget to have these panels put on our roof, and that certainly is a benefit.”

Further developments are possible for the future of other city buildings, although the panels require specific rooftop qualities and ample space, Pietravoia said.

Both locations have educational kiosks that provide information to residents about how much electricity is currently being generated by the panels, as well as a lifetime view, Pietravoia said.

The library purchased additional materials that residents can check out if they would like more information about incorporating solar or other alternative energy to their homes.

The energy saved is one reason why the organizations decided to add the panels, but another factor was to send a message to renewable energy manufacturers that Euclid means business when it comes to the technology, and job creation, Pietravoia said.

“We wanted to show to the renewable energy manufactures that we’re serious about their product by actually using it here locally with the hopes of attracting some renewable energy manufactures to Euclid,” he said. “Our hope is that some of our larger industrial and commercial users will look at installing solar panels and also our residents as well.”

To view the kiosk display online, visit www.cityofeuclid.com and click on the “Going Green” icon near the center of the page.