Zak Wood / Colorado Daily

Bella Energy solar technicians, Colin Wann, center, and Kim Derhammer, right, hoist up a solar panel for the roof of the George Reynolds Branch Library as project manager, Marc Guy watches on. Bella Energy donated the system to the city of Boulder.

Just when you think Boulder is a green city, it gets a little greener.

On Thursday, the city took one more step toward its carbon-emissions-reduction goal with the installation of 36 photovoltaic panels on the George Reynolds Branch Library building in south Boulder.

"This is the first of many systems going up," said Jim Volpa of Bella Energy. "They've made a huge commitment and it shows great foresight on the part of the city."

The solar panels were given to the city and installed as a gift from Bella Energy valued at $35,000 after rebate. In addition, the Park Central and Municipal buildings will receive sets of solar panels valued together at $50,000 which was made possible by private, anonymous donations.

"Municipalities face lots of challenges in installing solar panels, primarily that they're expensive. We wanted to encourage the City of Boulder," said Andrew McKenna, Vice President of Bella Energy.

Though expensive, the solar cells will pay for themselves over time. The array installed on the roof of the George Reynolds building is a 10-kilowatt system and is expected to save as much as $1,500 a year in electricity bills.

"It's a great long-term investment, and with the urgency of having to do something about our carbon footprint, it's even more important," said Volpa.

Another benefit of the solar cells is the fact that large amounts of carbon dioxide will be kept out of the atmosphere. Bella Energy estimates indicate that between the three installations, as much as 86,000 pounds of waste will be offset, or about 40 tons a year.

According to Kevin Afflerbaugh, of the Office of Environmental Affairs, as much as 80 to 90 percent of Boulder's electricity comes from the Valmont Power Plant, which runs a coal-fired generator. Beyond carbon dioxide, the burning of coal produces sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, compounds which are responsible for environmental blights such as acid rain and smog.

"Colorado has a disproportionately high carbon footprint because of the high coal content of our electricity. In terms of the City's carbon-dioxide-reduction goal, this works well. The energy generated here will help offset those emissions," said McKenna.

According to McKenna, the panels on the George Reynolds building will cover as much as 30 percent of the building's total electricity use.

A tertiary goal of the solar panels is education and attention. The panels are clearly visible on the roof of the library from Table Mesa Drive and the systems on all three buildings will include a device that allows residents to monitor the effectiveness and output of the panels in real time over the Internet. The hope of city officials and Bella Energy is that residents will realize the practicality of solar panel use for private residences and commercial interests.

"The message we want to send is that it's here, it's now, and it's really big," said Volpa.

Contact Christopher Moore about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 113, or at editor@coloradodaily.com.