Dane County is in the process of installing the state’s largest publicly owned solar energy project. Once completed, some 816 solar panels on the county’s new highway garage and an adjacent building will be “net zero,” creating more energy than is used.
Local officials and environmentalists gathered at the project site on Earth Day to officially open one section of the installation.
“This is not only about our clean energy future — it’s about our clean jobs future,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “The more companies that we have who have work like this that can attract people to get into the clean energy profession, can give them work now as we head into the future — we’re preparing our economy to evolve with the future clean energy economy.”
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Tyler Huebner from RENEW Wisconsin said the county has been a leader in using renewable energy.
“The Solar Energy Industry Association found out that we now have a million solar projects in the United States. So it’s growing incredibly fast and we want to continue to see local governments lead,” Huebner said.
It cost $27 million to construct the new highway garage and adjacent building for the medical examiner. The county had been paying $120,000 annually to rent space for highway trucks.
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