County grants solar contract

System to be installed on new building

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — When the new transportation facility is finished next year, it will draw a significant part of its electricity needs from photovoltaic panels.

At a special meeting of the government services committee on October 24, lawmakers voted to award a contract to construct the solar system to ETM Solar Works of Endicott, NY. The cost of the system is not to exceed $144,875.

It is the first county-owned alternative energy system in Sullivan County.

At the meeting, Dr. Bill Pammer, commissioner of planning and environmental management, said the panels will not be mounted on the roof of the building, but instead will be mounted on metal posts in the ground. This will allow the panels to pivot and change direction according to the position of the sun at various times of the year. The ground mounting will also allow the panels to be more easily used for educational purposes.

Energy activist Dick Riseling noted that he began meeting with county officials about renewable energy projects in 2004. He applauded their action and said, “Keep going, legislature, keep going.”

Committee chairman Alan Sorensen said, “It’s a good first start and I look forward to incorporating additional alternative energy sources as we move forward, hopefully also with our fleet of county vehicles.”

He said he’s been doing research into compressed natural gas, which has a very small carbon footprint compared to gasoline made from oil, and the gas might not be too hard to come by. “We have a natural gas pipeline going right through the heart of the county; maybe it’s time we started taking advantage of that,” he said.