Colorado Ski Town's Solar Array Almost Operational

Colorado Ski Town's Solar Array Almost Operational

Wednesday, December 29th 2010 18:39

By GetSolar Staff.

Telluride, Colorado is known as one of the premier ski destinations in the U.S. Small in size, the little town is nestled amid the Rockies in the southwest corner of Colorado. Recently, town officials announced that after more than a year in the making, a solar panel system is almost operational at the regional wastewater treatment plant there.

The photovoltaic system is comprised of 480 solar panels and its engineers expect that it will go online sometime in the next few weeks. The solar panel system is the first large-scale, net-metered, grid-tiered array within the San Miguel Power Associations service area, according to town officials. Don Jones, the owner of Controlled Hydronics Inc., the contractor tasked with the installation, tells the Telluride Watch: "It should be operative in the first week in January."

The $600,000 solar power project was funded in part by a $150,000 grant from the state's Governor's Energy Office. Moreover, the town of Mountain Village, whose wastewater is also treated at the plant, recently contributed $157,000 in financing. Upon completion, the photovoltaic system is expected to produce roughly 205 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually - about 10 percent of the plant's energy use.

Town officials affirm that the solar panel system will save about $14,000 a year in energy costs, helping the town to reach its goal of lowering its 2005 carbon emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020.