Dec. 13, 2010

The Bay City District Office of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, located 401 Ketchum St., recently completed installation of a 10-kilowatt solar array to make the office more energy efficient.

A Gold-certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building, the DNRE Bay City District Office is home to DNRE staff in environmental protection programs. Michigan Rehabilitation Services, a division of the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, also shares office space in the building.

The solar array includes two rows of 22 panels - a total of 44 - sitting atop of seven-pylon structure at the north end of the facility's property. The array is rated to produce 10 kilowatts of power. In addition, the facility already has a wind turbine, which generates 50 kilowatts of power. The improvements qualify the building to be upgraded to Platinum-certified LEED, which would make it one of a few buildings in the United States to attain that certification.

The panels will generate electricity any time there is light, and it will generate electric power even at night just from the nearby parking lot lighting.

"It is a goal of the DNRE to lead 'green' by example," said DNRE Director Rebecca Humphries. "The Bay City District Office is a great example of what government offices and the private sector can do by investing in energy-efficient, sustainable solutions."

The installation of the array completes a several phase effort to make the Bay City District Office energy efficient and green, to produce electricity in conjunction with the wind turbine to provide power to the building, and to develop a partnership with Saginaw Valley State University's College of Engineering to monitor and analyze energy use and production at this site.

The solar array vendor was NOVA Consultants of Novi, and the contactor was Mid-Michigan Solar of Flint. The array was funded by the American Recovery and Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state's environment, natural resources, and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/dnre.