While Pres. Obama’s signing of the nearly $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act… better known as the Stimulus Bill… attracted lots of attention, especially for the billions that will be going to alternative energy, a Colorado company in the renewable energy field just was glad to help provide the backdrop for the event.
Denver based Hybrid Energy Group owns and operates the solar array on the roof of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden toured during the bill-signing ceremony:
“It was a spectacular event for Colorado and the renewable energy industry, and we are pleased that our solar array was the backdrop to this important moment in history,” said HEG President, Woody Beardsley. “The stimulus package will double the amount of renewable energy produced over the next three years and that bodes well for clean energy projects across America.”
The $720,000 museum array includes 465 solar panels generating 134,500 kilowatt hours of electricity on average—enough to power 30-35 homes. Under the terms of a twenty-year agreement, Hybrid Energy Group owns and operates the photovoltaic array, selling the solar electricity it generates to the museum. Namaste Solar was the installer on the project.
“We structured the development and ownership of the array so that an investment in solar energy was much more attractive to the museum,” said Beardsley. “By working with HEG, the museum was able to acquire renewable energy for less than if it had purchased the array on its own.”
This particular array at the museum is the first in a broader program HEG has unveiled to provide solar power to non-profit institutions and governmental entities.