by Bea Peterson
Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge pointed out that the Village has no control over when Monolith completes its projects in the Village. “It’s taken two years to get this far,” he said. The first Village building with solar panels was the Water Plant, and the Mayor said they have undoubtedly seen savings in electrical costs as a result. The panels are all in place, and all the work is done at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Mayor has a sign-off letter from national grid as well. What remains to be done is panels on the roof of the Municipal Building. [private]Before the panels could be installed, a new roof had to be put on the building. That was done this spring. The large tree in the right front corner of the building had to come down as it blocked off too much sun from the roof. Monolith took the tree down on Thursday, August 14. Mayor Borge said he hopes they will begin putting the panels on the roof within the next several weeks. When work is complete a display panel will be placed at the side of the Municipal Building indicating the work is a Monolith project. Once the three buildings are fully operational, Monolith expects the Village will be saving at least $6,500 a year.
This past spring the Village locked into a two year contract with an alternative electric company with the potential of saving the Village about $40,000 a year in electricity costs. “Once all the Village lights are LED, we will see even more savings,” said Mayor Borge. Of course, with the volatile rates today, it is uncertain just how much will be saved.
The Village has paid nothing to have the solar panels at the three sites installed nor is it responsible for their maintenance, which is a benefit to the Village.
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