U.S. governor installs solar panels on official residence

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, US, April 6, 2005 (Refocus Weekly)

 The governor's residence in Pennsylvania has installed a solar power system.

The 16 panels on the south-facing roof will provide 2.8 kW of capacity to provide green power to the building and to provide 22 hours of backup power for critical government services in the event of a blackout. The project was funded by a US$20,000 grant from The Reinvestment Fund which manages the Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) created by the state Public Utility Commission to promote renewables and energy conservation.

The grant came from the fund's Solar Photovoltaic Grant Program, while BP Products North America contributed a similar amount.

“This first-of-its-kind project highlights the importance of investing in renewable energy technology as a tool to ensure a reliable energy supply if the power grid ever goes down," says Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty. “The project also showcases Pennsylvania's national leadership on energy issues. Diversifying our energy resources is a key piece of ensuring against economic and security vulnerabilities."

Installation of renewable energy systems ensure that police and fire stations, hospitals and emergency centres can offer consistent and reliable services during blackouts. The solar system at the governor's residence will generate continuous electricity during normal daytime operations, offsetting electric utility supply to the residence.

Installation of the solar panels was completed as part of the March 2001 multi-site remediation agreement between DEP and BP Amoco (now BP Products North America). The agreement established consistent standards for cleanups at various BP sites around the state and accelerated the closeout of BP storage tanks.

"Governor Rendell and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are demonstrating innovative and smart leadership, utilizing environmental project funding to generate clean and reliable solar electricity for both critical backup homeland security infrastructure and day-to-day power needs," says Mary Shields of BP Solar. "Not only does this make sense for the governor's residence, for the environment and for security purposes, but just last year the governor led the charge on passing an Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard to ensure that all Pennsylvanians benefit from a cleaner and more diverse electricity supply."

Pennsylvania has adopted a portfolio standard that requires 18% of electricity to come from clean sources within 15 years, including at least 0.5% from solar PV. The Energy Harvest Grant Program encourages renewable energy projects, and has awarded $10 million and leveraged another $27 million in private funds since it was launched in May 2003.

Last year, funding was allocated for two solar projects on state-owned buildings, the governor's residence and another at DEP's regional office, which is not yet under way.


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