Las Vegas — the city built on bad math — continues fine tradition
Officials show off solar-panel-topped carports at the Stupak Community Center on Thursday. (Gary Thompson/Review-Journal)
All the city officials were suspender-popping proud Thursday as they showed off the new carports at the Stupak Community Center near what old timers call Naked City — for all the showgirls who reportedly sunned themselves on the rooftops.
Speaking of sun, these new carports provide more than shade. They are topped with solar panels that will generate electricity for the government-owned buildings and save the taxpayers money on the buildings’ power bills.
The carports at the Stupak Center will generate about 50,000 kilowatt-hours annually, or roughly 30 percent of the building's electricity use, said a city official. There will also be a recharging station for electric cars. The other solar carports are to be built at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and a fire station on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
The three projects should save $28,000 a year over the 30-year life of the photovoltaic panels.
A Review-Journal story reported the projects are being paid for with a $1.2 million HUD grant of taxpayer money and a $414,250 rebate check from NV Energy’s ratepayers. The total cost is only $1.3 million.
But over the life of the panels, the taxpayers and ratepayers will save a whopping $840,000.
What a deal!
That's something to sing about:
