The final phase of a $175,000 energy grant-funded solar power retrofit of the Cooperative Extension Service main exhibit hall at Mounts Botanical Garden was recently completed. It features a real-time solar monitoring system that provides continually updated data on the performance of the system and resulting energy and environmental savings.
The Real-Time Monitoring System is shown on a 32-inch flat-screen monitor located in the lobby of the exhibit hall. It is also accessible at www.pbcmountssolar.com.
Serving as an educational tool, the monitoring system and solar array itself are connected to the Florida Power & Light grid, and real-time displays of data can be seen on the system’s output. A quick touch or click reveals environmental offsets for CO2, electrical wattage, gasoline, oil, coal and trees being saved or kept out of the environment through the use of this alternate energy system.
The solar panels and monitoring system were part of a series of countywide projects selected under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program, approved by the Board of County Commissioners and administered by the Economic Development Office.
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $6.5 million to Palm Beach County to support energy strategies and conservation activities to improve energy efficiency, reduce energy usage and fossil fuel emissions, and create green jobs in Palm Beach County.
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