In summer 2011, the City of Kasson, also a member of the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program installed 45 solar panels on their city hall in an effort to save energy and money. In 2010, the city applied for an energy conservation grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources. It got the grant, reshingled city hall’s roof, and installed the solar panels this last month.
“We think the majority of the year there will be no cost and any extra energy that’s produced is sent out to the power grid,” says city finance director, Nancy Zaworski. She says the new solar panels will provide an excess of energy to city hall during the summer and that translates to less costs for taxpayers. “It is saving, virtually, our energy bills for the entire summer months,” she says.
Thomas Thompson installed the panels over the month of July. He says during the winter, the panels should still be effective even if snow covers some of them. “Each individual module has its own inverter so if you get snow on one, the other one isn’t affected,” says Thompson. He also pointed out another useful feature of these panels – the ability to monitor each one online. “We can see what each individual module’s doing. If it’s performing up to where it’s supposed to be…Plus, if there’s a problem with one, I know about it.” says Thompson.
Zaworski says the panels will take 12 years to pay off. The grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources covers 40 percent of the $67,000 dollar bill. The remaining 60 percent will be paid through the city’s own electric company which sets aside money for energy projects like these solar panels. “We’re always looking for ways to reduce the amount of energy we use,” says Zaworski.
Watch video from ABC 6 News about the project.
The original ABC 6 story by Dietrich Nissen appeared on Aug 10, 2011.
