Around the Arch Blog

At the May 13 Reno City Council meeting the Council gave final approval to authorize issuance of Clean & Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBS). The CREBs were authorized to support installation of solar photovoltaic projects at City of Reno sites in support of the Green Council Priority. The CREBs are a 15 year, zero interest loan that will be used to finance the projects. Annual bond payments are made through a combination of energy savings and energy generated from the solar photovoltaic systems. The City of Reno will be the first municipality in northern Nevada to utilize CREBs.

As part of the City of Reno Green Priority, the City has installed a 50kW PV array at the Corporation Yard in December of 2008. You can see how the system is performing and the energy it is generating  as well as the offset in CO2 emissions by following this link. The 50kW array was paid for through a combination of an NV Energy SolarGenerations rebate and a general fund approriation.

The City is looking to add an addtional 210kW of PV this year. A 30kW array will be placed on the Downtown Parking Gallery to serve its tenants and the tenants of the West Street Market. A 180kW array will also be added to the Downtown Events Center.  These systems will be paid for through a combination of NV Energy SolarGenerations rebates, stimulus funding, and Clean & Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs). CREBs are a zero interest, 12-16 year loan that is provided to local governments to install renewable energy systems.

In support of the City of Reno Green Priority, the City has hired APS Energy Services to prepare a comprehensive energy audit for the City. The energy audit was approved by Council in August of 2008 and is scheduled to be completed in July of 2009. The audit has identified numerous energy conservation measures for City facilities that will lead to 20% reduction in energy use. The first phase of projects will be presented to Council in late May and includes lighting retrofits, boiler replacements, digital control systems, solar photovoltaic systems and wind turbine systems.