Grant worth $20,000

Palouse Community Center gets grant for green energy

The Palouse Community Center has received a $20,000 grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation to support its Renewable Energy Demonstration Project. Funds will be used to purchase an energy-efficient heating and cooling system and forced air electric dual heat pumps for the Palouse Community Center building.

Energy for operation will be provided by solar panels.

“This was a huge boost for the Community Center,” said Scott Beeson, chairman of the Community Center Board. “We are grateful to the INWCF for their generous support.”

Beeson explained that the heating and cooling system is one of the best systems currently available.

“We likely could not have afforded it without the grant from Inland Northwest Community Foundation,” he said. “Now we will have a system that will pay for itself in energy savings, and also enables air conditioning for the building, something else we wanted, but couldn’t quite justify.”

The Community Center board opened the bids for the construction of the project June 16. The architect for the project helped the board select a contractor June 27 and a contract offer has been extended.

The board has declined to report the bid amounts until a contract is signed for construction of the building.

Sharon Tharp, chair of the renewable energy project, said that an estimated $1,000 in utility bills could be saved each month through the use of solar panels. Working with a local renewable energy group, the Community Center board established the Mike Carlton Memorial Fund to solicit donations for the project.

The project includes placement of up to 20 solar panels on the roof of the new building. Carlton who died last year, shared his knowledge about renewable energy with many in the area and had planned to donate surplus energy from his wind turbine to the center.

Each solar panel will have an energy management component that transmits performance information to a website, Tharp explained. The amount of energy produced by each solar panel can be viewed anytime. A computer in the new center will allow easy access to this information, she said.

The intent is to have the Palouse project serve as a model for other communities interested in similar projects and serve as a resource for students.

The dual heat pumps will allow for separate temperature control for the two main areas of the building, another means of energy conservation, said Tharp.

Additionally, through the Washington State Renewable Energy Production Incentive, and the Washington State Dept. of Revenue, the Community Center will be paid for the energy produced by its solar panels, Tharp explained.

Construction on the new Community Center is expected to begin this summer, said Beeson.