Energy efficiency is tops at public safety building

• Solar panels

Workers install a total of 185 solar panels on the roof of the Woodbury Public Safety building last week. The savings and rebates prompted the city to use the renewable energy technology to power the building. Staff photo by Riham Feshir

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The Woodbury Public Safety Building has gone solar.

A total of 185 solar panels were installed last week on the roof of the Public Safety Building’s garage, bringing the annual energy savings to about $5,500 for the city.

Parks and Recreation Director Bob Klatt said the city took advantage of two different rebate opportunities and installed the solar equipment.

“The city is actually working with a third party primary contractor to do the installation and the city is buying the material over a six-year period,” he said.

The complete installation costs will be about $40,000 to be paid over the next few years. But with the rebates from Xcel Energy at a little less than $80,000, the savings will be significant, Klatt said.

The city also purchased Minnesota-made panels from a Bloomington company, which resulted in another bonus rebate of $90,000.

“That’s why our cost, when we eventually take it over, ends up being so much less,” he said, adding “the rebates have been the attractive part.”

The roof of the Public Safety garage was the most suitable place that will provide electricity to the entire facility.

The project will be funded out of the municipal buildings fund, which pays for utility costs.

What the city is paying over the six years will essentially be the same as what it would’ve paid for utilities over the same time period, Klatt said.

At the end of the six years, the city will no longer have those payments and the funds dedicated to utility costs will end up going down, he added.

The Woodbury Public Safety Building joins City Hall and the Bielenberg Sports Center in becoming energy efficient.

The municipal buildings are all equipped with geothermal heating and energy efficient lighting throughout.

“That saves us significantly in terms of gas for heating and electricity for cooling,” Klatt said.

And with the Bielenberg Sports Center expansion on the horizon, new design plans are incorporating solar panels and a geothermal system for the new field house, he said.

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