The Erie City Fire Station will soon have a reliable source of back-up power during outages, reports yourerie.com, as a new system of rooftop solar panels will soon be installed. The system will provide 100% of the electricity at the facility.
Officials say the installation process will begin within the next two months.
The project is partly funded by a $200,000 Green Mountain Energy grant. The city also received grants from Penelec and the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, according to the report.
The battery storage will keep the department running—even at night and during cloudy days—for up to seven days, the report notes.
Officials say there could even be some excess electricity created, which will be sold to Penelec to provide revenue to the city. They add that if this project is successful it could lead to more eco-friendly projects.