Solar panels are being installed on the roof of the Montgomery County Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville. The solar energy system is expected to generate more than 53,000 kilowatt hours of energy each year.
The solar panel project at the Council Office Building is part of a larger Montgomery County initiative to generate clean solar energy on-site at County-owned facilities. With 75 percent of the projects completed, the Solar and Advanced Energy Initiative is on track to bring six megawatts of solar power on line this year. That is enough electricity to power more than 600 single-family homes.
According to a news release, the County’s solar projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 870 cars off the road or planting 100,000 trees. In addition, the projects will save the County $11 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.
Montgomery County has fully operating solar energy systems at eleven facilities, including the Gaithersburg Library, the Rockville Library, Potomac Community Center, Jane Lawton Recreation Center in Chevy Chase, the Up-County Regional Services Center in Germantown, the Silver Spring Civic Building, Fire Station No. 31 in North Potomac, the Montgomery County Circuit Court South Tower in Rockville, the Shady Grove Transfer Station, the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control in Darnestown and the Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operations Center.
In addition to starting work on the COB solar panels, the County also has started construction on a parking canopy that will support solar panels at the Holiday Park Senior Center in Wheaton. The solar canopy will keep visitors out of the rain, keep their cars cool in the summer heat and provide clean solar energy to the facility.
Solar installations are also planned for the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds and for the Kidstop Childcare Center in Rockville.
Post time: Jan-27-2017