Community Market to get solar panels with awarded stimulus funds
Danville’s Community Market will be the recipient of the first solar power project by a utility in Southside, thanks to $202,000 in federal stimulus funds, according to a letter from the city manager to City Council and Mayor Sherman Saunders.
Danville Utilities will use the funding to buy and install solar photovoltaic electric generation panels on the Community Market building at the Crossing of the Dan. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Danville the “Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant,” which was distributed to the largest cities and counties in Virginia and other states as part of the federal stimulus bill.
According to the letter, “this will be the first solar power generation project undertaken by a utility in Southside Virginia.” The funds must be spent so as to create and/or retain jobs, “while laying the foundation for a long-term and sustainable clean energy economy.”
Funding for the project is included in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget.
The electricity generated will both supply the Community Market building and supplement the city’s purchased power.
City Manager Lyle Lacy and Mayor Saunders could not be reached for comment Sunday. City Council will vote on the ordinance Tuesday.
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Reader Reactions
... you know these people need air conditioning when they congregate down
there to eat their shrimps and drink their beers…...
Un-Freaking-Believable! I wonder if Pelosiello had a hand in creating so many long-term jobs with this $202,000!
I will bet anyone that this work will be performed by out of town contractors.
somone putting solar panels on the community market is like someone putting $3,500 rims and tires on an old beat up $200 clunker…
I wonder how long it will take to pay for itself in savings?
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