Solar panels installed to pick up part of Euclid library's power needs

Euclid City Hall and the city library are getting an assist from the sun for electric lighting.

Ohio Cooperative Solar, an employee-owned solar installation company, has completed massive solar panel arrays on the rooftop of each building.

The nearly 700 solar panels will generate a maximum of 155,000 watts and, over a year, will contribute between 10 percent and 15 percent of the power needs of each building, said Cliff Wood, chief executive officer of the cooperative.

The city dedicated the projects Tuesday.

Mayor Bill Cervenik said the solar arrays, the white roofs on city buildings, and Lincoln Electric's new wind turbine all send a message about the city.

"They all save energy and are good for the environment. But our goal in Euclid is to create jobs, to send a message to the alternative energy companies that Euclid and Northeast Ohio is a place in which they should locate," he said.

"We are positioning ourselves to be ready when the economy kicks in again, and it will,"Cervenik said.

The Euclid solar arrays are the largest the two-year-old company has completed, said Wood.

The company owns the array and has a 15-year contract with the city and the library for the purchase of the power. Euclid and the library paid nothing for the nearly $800,000 project, which was funded with a combination of tax credits and loans.

Any power the city does not use, for example on summer weekends, will automatically be fed to FirstEnergy through a net metering agreement.

Wood calculated that the Euclid installation will offset about 97 tons of carbon dioxide for coal that might not be burned because of the reduction in demand for power from  FirstEnergy's system.

Previously, the company has built solar arrays for Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic, Wood said.

OCS  one of the Evergreen Cooperatives created by the Cleveland Foundation.

In addition to backing from CWRU, and the two hospitals, Wood said the City of Cleveland, KeyBank, and the Cleveland Housing Network also have been critical supporters.

OCS  has 21 employee-owners. Some are also involved in home weatherization, said Wood.

"We are really grateful for the work on the solar side and the weatherization projects that we have received from the anchor institutions," he said.