George Reynolds Public Library, Boulder, CO

Bella Energy has donated a 10 kilowatt solar electric system to the City of Boulder for the George Reynolds Branch Library, 3595 Table Mesa Drive, valued at $35,000 after rebate.

The 10 kilowatt system:

• Provides 15,000 kilowatts hours of electric power, enough energy to drive a car once around the earth at the equator.

• Covers about 30% of the library’s annual energy needs.

• Saves the City $1,500 per year at 10 cents a kilowatt.

• Fixes electricity cost for the 30-year lifespan of the system, years in which the cost of electricity is predicted to increase at 3.5% a year.

• Prevents the burning of 150,000 pounds of coal.

• Reduces Boulder’s carbon dioxide emissions annually by 12 tons: that’s 2 male African elephants.

The City’s goal is also to educate the community about the benefits of renewable energy. The Reynolds Branch Library in south Boulder is ideally located on two busy roads (Table Mesa and Broadway) with a south-facing roof structure,which is, clearly visible from the road.

Additionally the library will have a Fat Spaniel computer based monitoring system with energy production and consumption data available to the public over the internet. Library employees can use the monitoring system’s information to change their energy consumption behaviors because they can see when and how much energy they use. School children can log on in their classroom and see how much energy the library energy plant is producing in that exact moment.

“This is an incredible opportunity for the city to showcase the benefits of solar energy.”

Jonathan Koehn

Environmental Affairs Manager

City of Boulder

“Bella Energy is committed to promoting clean independent solar energy for all community sectors including the public sector. The Reynolds Library is the first of many public buildings in the City of Boulder planned to go solar in the next year or so.”

Andrew McKenna

Bella Energy, Vice President

Tags: Project of the Month