On June 13, 2011, A&A Transfer, Inc. commenced its support for a two month venture with Aurora Energy, Inc. to install 250 solar panels on the roof of the Central Library in Arlington, Virginia for Arlington Country’s Department of Environmental Services. Ultimately, the installation of these solar panels will help to reduce the facility’s “peak demand” energy usage, offset a portion of its electricity consumption and save money.
The installation of the 60-kilowatts solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the Central Library is highly advantageous and will serve to do the following:
• Collect sunlight during all seasons
• Save approximately $14,000 in energy costs annually
• Offset a portion of the building’s electrical consumption
• Reduce the county’s CO2 emissions by about 100,000 pounds annually
The new solar photovoltaic system will contribute to Arlington’s goal to reduce the County government greenhouse gas emissions by ten percent by 2012, as part of fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions). Together with its large, flat roof that can easily accumulate sunlight and previous AIRE energy efficiency developments, Central Library is the ideal facility for a solar photovoltaic system.
It was especially important to A&A that we facilitate Aurora Energy and the Central Library in their mission to install these panels because of the environmental implications that are carried with solar energy. The benefits of using solar energy are far-reaching. Beyond saving heaps of money on your electric bill, it does wonders for our environment. Solar power generates zero pollution. Once the solar panels are created, they generate electricity without any emissions. In the case of Central Library, the panels will produce approximately 60,000-70,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year-that’s the same amount of energy used by seven houses annually! The electricity generated by solar power is clean, reliable and most importantly renewable; thus, it will help reduce greenhouse gases, a major contributor to global climate change.
A&A was thrilled to be given the chance to support this green initiative. We are making a conscious effort to incorporate green practices into our business standards and are able to carry forth these efforts with jobs such as the installation of solar panels at the Central Library. “We were very excited to be a part of something so innovative and environmentally-friendly. A&A takes pride in our green practices and it was very rewarding to help such a large facility go green as well,” commented Ryan Lavin, the Account Executive who undertook this job.
This project was made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program administered by the U.S. Department of Energy.
