First day of summer: High Point “Solar Panel Challenge” launch

That sign went up, on building-side space donated by Nucor, a month ago – and now the accompanying donation drive has begun: Today, Neighborhood House launches the Solar Panel Challenge to bring in $100,000 for a “second array of solar panels” atop its under-construction (here’s our recent hard-hat-tour story) Neighborhood Center in High Point, which will be both a community gathering place and a headquarters for social services as well as environmental education. The second array will make the building “energy-neutral” and will pay for itself within a few years, saving up to $30,000 a year. Read on for the official news release about the Solar Panel Challenge:

On June 21st, Neighborhood House will launch its Solar Panel Challenge — a campaign to raise $100,000 to build a second array of solar panels atop the High Point Neighborhood Center. The campaign launch will coincide with the summer solstice on Sunday the 21st, the longest day of the year, and will end with the fall equinox on September 22, 2009.

A second array will allow all the rooftop panels to meet 100 percent of the High Point Neighborhood Center’s average energy demand, making the building completely self-sufficient, independent from Seattle City Light and one of the very few energy-neutral structures in the state.

Electrical bill estimates for a building of this size are in the thousands of dollars per month. A second array would therefore translate into savings of $20,000 – $30,000 per year, critical funds that, instead of going to bills, will go to services and programs, light up Head Start and ESL classrooms, heat a Family and Teen Center and fuel a community kitchen.

The center is scheduled to open in the fall in West Seattle’s High Point neighborhood, and plans are already in place for an initial array of 256 solar panels comprising 6,000 square feet. This array alone will be the largest atop a building in the entire state of Washington.

Neighborhood House recently completed a $13 million capital campaign to construct the center — a LEED Gold certified building that will be home to critical social services as well as state-of-the-art environmental education programs aimed at the High Point community.

The second array of solar panels can be sponsored for $1,000 per panel. Contributions can be made in monthly installments, in someone’s honor, or as some have done by teaming together as a group. The total project budget for the second array is $200,000. The City of Seattle Community Facilities Loan Program is providing $100,000 in funding.

To take a tour of the High Point Neighborhood Center, please contact Alex Wang, Development
Associate, at (206) 461-8430 x257 or alexw@nhwa.org

3 Replies to "First day of summer: High Point "Solar Panel Challenge" launch"

  • Jane June 21, 2009 (3:36 pm)

    This kind of smart and forward thinking construction should be rewarded! I am donating $1000 today. Only 99 more people to go…I know they are giving themselves through the end of summer but my challenge would be to get it done by August 1st. It would only take 3 people a day to get it done by then. And the donation is essentially ‘matched’ by city. Very cool.

  • mike June 21, 2009 (6:24 pm)

    It’s a great idea but the extra “green” costs cost and extra $1,000,000. If you do the math it does not make financial sense and they do require maintenance and repair.

    I applaud the approach to more energy efficient ideas, I just wish they’d go with recycled building materials.

  • flynlo June 22, 2009 (10:22 am)

    From the 2nd para. of the news release:

    “A second array will allow all the rooftop panels to meet 100 percent of the High Point Neighborhood Center’s average energy demand, making the building completely self-sufficient, independent from Seattle City Light and one of the very few energy-neutral structures in the state. ”

    I take issue with the statement “making the building completely self_sufficient, independent from Seattle City Light.

    I seriously doubt that $250,000. is a sufficient investment to provide storage capacity to provide
    electricity when the sun isn’t shining. I suspect that what is really happening is that they will NOT be “independent from Seattle City Light” but will be using City Light as a “battery”
    to store excess energy generated by their solar
    array for use when the sun isn’t shining. Does it matter? Not currently, however, as more and more alternate energy sources are developed, it may become increasingly difficult for City Light
    to provide the “battery” capacity!

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