Delaware energy: Wilmington water plant goes solar

WILMINGTON -- Nearly 2,300 solar panels at the city's largest water filtration plant next week will begin harnessing energy from the sun.
The $8.9 million project at the Porter Reservoir plant is the first in a series of greening efforts that has been completed by the city government.

Mayor James M. Baker has made the environmental work one of his highest priorities in his third and final term.

The solar panels and other upgrades at the plant will save the city money, reduce the government's reliance on traditional sources of electricity such as fossil fuels and nuclear power and provide temporary construction jobs.

"This is showing what we can do as a community and a country," Baker said. "If we don't keep doing this for our children and the next generation, we're going to suffer miserably."

The Porter plant filters 75 percent of Wilmington's drinking water. The solar panels will generate about 25 percent of the power needed to run the plant, which will save the city about $60,000 a year in electricity costs, city Public Works Commissioner Kash Srinivasan said.

The city also will receive about $120,000 a year through the sale of renewable-energy credits to Delmarva Power and get a one-time $250,000 rebate from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, city Communications Director John Rago said.

The installation of a booster system to the pumps at the Porter Plant later this year will further reduce the facility's energy costs, Srinivasan said.

The nearly $9 million work at Porter is part of $14.5 million in green projects planned for Wilmington this year.

The other work includes lower-energy traffic lights and more-efficient lighting systems and solar panels in city-owned buildings, city spokesman Rich Neumann said.

Most of the money came from federal stimulus funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.