Manatee is Cooking with Solar

BRADENTON -- The sun is shinning on  Manatee County and brighting up it's future. It's foolish not to cash in on the rays that bring so many people here. At Tuesday's BOCC meeting, commissioners voted to invest in a solar lease agreement that could possibly yield $100,000 in annual savings in energy costs. Soon 17 county facilities will be equipped with 26 solar units that will not only save the county money, but will help to reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses once used to to produce that energy. 

Manatee County officials are not dragging their feet to stay current with the available methods that will keep us smart, green and prudent. The county has accepted a lease agreement with Datacomm Services (DCS). When you crunch the numbers, the county will fair quite well. DCS will loan the county the panels for five years, and at the end of the term, DCS will sell the equipment to the county for $1.00 apiece. Manatee will pay DCS $4,000 per system in engineering, permitting and net metering cost. This deal works by taking advantage of energy grants available for businesses and Renewable Energy Credits.

Through similar projects, the county is now saving almost half a million dollars in energy costs annually. This comes from Manatee County's efforts to be a certified Green Government. A win, win for us all, citizens are sure to be thank commissioners and staff that made the deal happen.