An application for a $50,000 grant from Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program has a good chance of being approved, according to library director Carrie Valdes.
Without comment, the council gave its approval for the library to submit the application for the Blue Sky funding. The library already has half the cost of the $100,000 project in its capital project fund, so there should be no new cost to the county, Valdes said.
Valdes told the council that concerns about the building’s roof warranty have been alleviated by new technology that allows the solar panel mount to be fixed in place without penetrating the roof panels.
The Blue Sky program is funded by extra fees that some Rocky Mountain Power consumers voluntarily pay each month to encourage the development of more renewable energy facilities. One of the program’s main goals is to create awareness and acceptance of the need for clean renewable energy, according to information included on the website of PacifiCorp, Rocky Mountain Power’s parent company.
The Blue Sky funding application submitted by the library suggests that goal is not well achieved outside the Wasatch Front. The award-winning library fits that bill because it is a community center that draws almost 150,000 resident and tourist visits per year, the application states.
According to the library’s application, awards the facility has received – best small library in the U.S. for 2007, and Utah’s outstanding library for 2009 – “have generated much press and public awareness.”
As part of the funding proposal, the library plans to install a computerized exhibit that will “display data about the power generated by the [photo-voltaic] array and will give a concrete example of how the Blue Sky program can bring clean renewable energy to the community.”