You’re going to see some construction work on City Hall next week as we get solar panels installed. Yes, our historic building is entering the modern age! The solar system will offset some of Sumner City Hall’s electrical consumption through on-site production and a Net Metering agreement with the utility provider Puget Sound Energy. Each year, Sumner City Hall uses about 224,868 kWh; this solar system will offset our use by about 33.3%, producing an estimated 74,945 kWh per year of clean renewable energy. Yes, we factored in the number of cloudy days we get to enjoy here in the Northwest. This will save us some money since the purchase and installation of the system is being covered by a State grant, but the savings on our monthly energy bill will benefit our own General Fund’s bottom line. Plus, we realize that there’s a bit of a leadership factor here too. This will help reduce our building’s overall carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. We know we have a role in trying to reduce our collective use of limited resources, including energy and water. We don’t want to ask you to conserve resources without practicing it ourselves. This is one small step, but it’s one of many. Some of our new fleet vehicles are electric, and our own wastewater treatment facility is leading the way for adjusting their very specific processes to use less energy. I’m so proud of our staff for continually exploring ways to save us money, energy, water and other resources. We may be in an old city hall, but we’re not afraid to try new things. That just makes life a little brighter even on the cloudiest of winter days!
Mayor Kathy Hayden
This project was funded by a grant from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.
