Henderson City Council approves matching funds for solar panels

Two green buildings in Henderson are about to get a little greener.

The city has received a $500,000 grant from the Department of Energy to add a solar photovoltaic system to the roofs of the Heritage Park Aquatic Complex and Senior Facility on South Racetrack Road. The grant requires matching funds, which the City Council approved Tuesday.

"These buildings are very green, very sustainable," said Mark Hobaica, city architect.

The Heritage Park Aquatic Complex and Senior Facility were completed in January 2010.

Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, visited the two facilities in May.

Both buildings were constructed to meet high standards of energy efficiency and water conservation. Both received gold certification for new construction from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system.

Hobaica said the facilities probably would have received the highest rating, platinum, if the solar panels had been added originally, but the city couldn't afford them at the time.

However, the price of solar panel technology has come down in recent years. Hobaica said that fact, combined with the grant, makes it possible for the city to add the panels now.

The project is to be completed by the end of March.

Hobaica said the solar panels will generate from 35 percent to 45 percent of the electricity demand for the two buildings. The project should pay for itself in about 12 years, he said, and it will have a 25-year warranty.

He expects the city to bid out the project within the next two weeks.