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.

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.

The Helix S322 and Windspire Energy turbines are now up on the Downtown Parking Gallery. They look great. The Windspire was painted by local artists and will be unveiled on July 8th at 4:00pm at an event in the West St. Market.

Reno got a lot of national attention for changing out the bulbs on the downtown arch to energy efficient LED lights. Now the City is garnering more attention. Leaders have put wind turbines on top of City Hall.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey74ZVuxhHY]

The first two wind turbines have been placed on Reno City Hall. They are the Cascade Engineering Swift turbines. Funded through the stimulus bill and NV energy rebates.

Artists interested in painting the City of Reno’s Windspire wind turbine during a live Artown event have one week left to submit their qualifications. Deadline for submissions is Monday, May 24.

The project is a partnership between Windspire Energy, the City of Reno, and Artown that seeks to draw attention to Reno’s commitment to arts and renewable energy during the month long art festival. The artist(s) selected for this project will work closely with Windspire Energy and the City of Reno to design and paint the 10 foot base pole of the Windspire that will be installed on the roof of the Downtown Parking Gallery. The Artown live painting event will be held on July 8 at the West Street Market.

Windspire Energy (formerly Mariah Power), developer of the Windspire® wind turbine, and the City of Reno released a request for proposal (RFP) on April 22. The RFP is available for download at http://windspireenergy.com/news-center/artown-rfq/ and is open to all artists in the northern Nevada and Northern California area. Interested artists can also contact Kristyn Bishop at Windspire Energy at marketing@windspireenergy.com  or 775-852-0200 x224.

The Windspire wind turbine at the Downtown Parking Gallery is part of the City of Reno’s $19 million Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Initiative. Funding for the initiative is completely through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from rebates, federal grants, and bonds paid in energy savings. Projects from the initiative will help to save money in the City’s general fund.

The City of Reno and Windspire Energy™ (formerly Mariah Power), developer of the Windspire® wind turbine, released an RFP to paint the City of Reno’s Windspire wind turbine during a live Artown event on July 8th at the West Street Market. The event is a celebration of the City’s commitment to both art and renewable energy.

To read more about this exciting partnership and event with the City of Reno, Windspire Energy, and Artown click here.

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.

On January 22, 2010, the FAA approved the installation of the wind turbines on top of City Hall. For information on the project, visit the Green pages of Reno.Gov.