Lebanon officials celebrated the start of a public/private partnership with Nashville-based Energy Source Partners with the installation of more than 6,500 solar panels at two locations in Lebanon.
The two five-acre solar panel sites are located at the Lebanon Wastewater Treatment Plant on Hartmann Drive and the Lebanon Water Department on Carver Lane. Each one-megawatt site continues the city’s Think Green – Think Clean initiative at very little cost to city residents. Energy Source provided the design, funding and construction of the solar panels, as well as maintenance.
“Other than the land space here, we have zero cost for this up front. The rate payers paid nothing for this installation,” said Lebanon Public Works Director Jeff Baines, who said the solar panels would put energy back into the power grid and conserve energy.
“The amount of renewable energy produced by the 6,800 solar panels installed at these two sites will avoid an estimated 2,793 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions,” said Ron Merville, President & CEO of Energy Source. “This is the equivalent of the annual greenhouse emissions of nearly 598 passenger vehicles or the annual carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of 419 average American homes.”
“Last year, the City of Lebanon was recognized by the State of Tennessee for our initiatives to deploy energy-saving and renewable resources such as these solar installations,” Lebanon Mayor Bernie Ash said. “We continue to seek ways to make Lebanon a model city in the area of renewable, green energy through projects such as the gasification plant, our residential recycling program and converting city vehicles from fossil fuels to natural gas.”
“Their commitment to renewable energy and solar power is remarkable,” Merville said.
