| Solar
boost -City installs a 30-kilowatt system at Islander Park [Riverside]
source: Doug Haberman The Press-Enterprise 2005.7.16 RIVERSIDE - The city on Friday dedicated a new solar-energy installation at Islander Park, where dozens of children splashed in two swimming pools seeking relief from a blazing sun. The solar panels that cover the roof of changing rooms and restrooms at the University neighborhood park will generate one-quarter to one-half the energy used by the pools, mostly for their filtration system. The city will dedicate two similar installations at Shamel and Hunt parks later this month. Together, the three projects generate 30 kilowatts of solar power, bringing to 440 kilowatts the total amount of locally generated solar energy in Riverside. The city utility is third in the state among municipal utilities for solar-power generation, behind Sacramento and Los Angeles, Public Utilities Director Dave Wright said. And it's the leader among midsize utilities in the use of locally generated power from solar systems installed on public facilities, according to the California Energy Commission. Resident Joe Butler, 65, watched one of his three grandchildren swimming in the main pool at Islander Park and said he was glad to see the solar panels go up. "It tells me the city is taking an interest" in clean
energy, he said.
Atoya Mendez, the city's renewable-energy administrator, said, "We want to be known as a green city," meaning environmentally friendly. The three solar installations cost $375,000 combined, Wright said. The money came from Riverside Public Utilities' public-benefit funds, which come from a state-mandated 2.85 percent surcharge that electricity customers pay. Fourth-graders throughout the city will learn about the solar panels during presentations the utility makes to classes every year, Wright said. ----------------------------------- Riverside Public Utilities has installed solar-energy panels in several locations, providing 440 kilowatts as it moves toward a goal of one megawatt of locally generated solar power. La Sierra Metrolink Station carport: 133 kW Public Utilities Operations Center carport: 150 kW Autumn Ridge Apartments for low-income residents: 81 kW Oak Tree Apartments for low-income residents: 46 kW Islander, Shamel and Hunt parks: 30 kW Source: Riverside Public Utilities
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New
solar collectors sit atop the roof of the changing rooms and restrooms
at Islander Park as 5-year-old Jakob Walker plays in the park's
pool [photo credit- David Degner / The Press-Enterprise].