Around the Arch Blog

The Reno Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Initiative has successfully performed numerous energy retrofits and installed solar and wind energy systems on City facilities since the first solar array went in in December 2008. To date, the City has installed 9 wind turbines and is receiving power from 1,287 kW in solar PV. In December 2011, the City surpassed 1,000,000 kWh from these renewable energy systems. Production from all systems can be monitored and downloaded from the Green Energy Dashboard at www.reno.gov

31 kW solar PV array at Fire Station #11 in northwest Reno.

The City of Reno recently completed adding 1,027 kW of solar photovoltaic electricity to its power supply through a third party Power Purchase Agreement with Nevada Solar Works. With the addition of these projects under the Reno Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Initiative, the City will receive 18-20% of its power from the sun.

The largest installation is at the Stead Wastewater Treatment Plant. It is a 522 kW array consisting of 2,520 panels that is estimated to produce almost 1 million kWh per year.

The project was made possible through the NV Energy SolarGenerations rebate program made possible by the Nevada State Legislature and the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

Residents will be able to track the City of Reno’s progress towards decreasing its carbon footprint with a new interactive website.

The Green Energy Dashboard, http://greenenergy.reno.gov, provides detailed information on 11 solar and wind turbine systems that have been installed on City facilities, with new sites to be added in the coming months. In several formats, the Dashboard displays the energy generated by the City’s solar and wind systems, allowing users to select custom date ranges as well as export the data. Residents will also be able to use the data to better predict what they could expect from installing similar systems at their homes or businesses.

In June and September of 2009, the Reno City Council approved a series of energy-efficient projects. The projects encompass solar photovoltaic systems, a wind turbine demonstration program, solar thermal heating systems, lighting retrofits, control systems, and a variety of HVAC upgrades. These projects make up the City of Reno’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Initiative, representing an investment of $19,067,678 in projects. The entire program is funded through a combination of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, Clean and Renewable Energy Bonds, Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds, Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, and RenewableGenerations rebates, offered by the local utility, NV Energy. Energy savings, projected at $996,903, will be used to pay off the bonds, making no impact on the City’s general fund.

When all the projects are on-line, the City will save 6,800,000 kilowatt hours and 225,000 therms per year and will lower its carbon footprint by 17,200,000 pounds of CO2 each and every year. The energy projects financed through all of the above mechanisms will be installed and commissioned through April 2012.

Check out the wind turbines on top of City Hall to see how much energy they are creating. The City launched its new web tool “Green Energy Dashboard” that gives current information on how much energy is generated from its solar and wind projects throughout Reno.

On October13, the Reno City Council approved a Solar Power Purchase Agreement with Nevada Solar Works. This will lead to the installtion of 1,424-1,624kW of solar PV. This will cost the City nothing out of pocket and provide about 17% of the energy used by the City for a fixed price. It starts at $0.075/kWh and goes up 2% per year.

NV Energy staff gave the City Council a SureBet rebate check for $50,129. The rebate is for projects in which the City has used alternative energy in the Reno Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Initiative. The City has put solar panels on public buildings and is saving energy at City Hall, mostly through conservation programs. The City is also putting up wind turbines at various locations, including the roof at City Hall. Pictured: Mary Simmons and Johnny Hargrove of NV Energy and Jason Geddes, City of Reno Environmental Services Administrator, Reno City Council and Linda Bissett, NV Energy.

Photos of the Solar photovoltaic installations at the Downtown Parking Gallery and Downtown Events Center and the wind turbine at the Stead Wastewater Treatment plant have been added to the Green paged of Reno.Gov

The 30 kW photovoltaic array on Downtown Parking Gallery has been completed. All work is done and we are just waiting for NV Energy to commission the system. The system will provide all power for Nevada EcoNet and most of the West Street market.

You can read more about his and other energy projects on the Green pages of www.cityofreno.com.