Stimulus to help city's eco-friendliness

Chandler's new City Hall could get a $500,000 solar power installation that would serve as a "highly visible example" of the city's commitment to eco-friendliness.

Plans also are afoot to put a portion of nearly $2.3 million in federal stimulus money Chandler expects to receive for energy conservation projects toward solar power units on foreclosed homes that the city intends to convert into affordable housing.

"We are committed to putting these projects to work as soon as possible," said Jennifer Morrison, the city's sustainability manager.

More than $1 million of the U.S. Department of Energy grant would be used to replace heating and air conditioning units in seven city buildings, including the Chandler Center for the Arts, with more efficient units.

Morrison said upgrading the air conditioning units would save the city $180,000 a year in electricity.

"That's really the one that's going to provide us the greatest amount of cost savings," she said.

Katrina Mueller, Center for the Arts general manager, said the facility's previous system was 20 years old and used banks of ice created in off-peak hours and stored in large tanks to cool the building. The new technology to chill water for the air conditioning is smaller and more efficient, she said.

"It consumes significantly less energy," Mueller said.

The City Council is slated to discuss the federal money on Monday. All told, the raft of projects officials have in mind could save the city a total of $400,000 a year in energy costs, Morrison said. In 2008, the city's total energy bill came to more than $12 million.

The changes also could cut the city's carbon footprint, the amount of carbon dioxide produced by city buildings and vehicles annually, by 4,000 tons, she said. The city's calculations put its carbon footprint in 2008 at more than 131,000 tons.

The City Hall solar power installation would sit atop an adjacent parking structure, she said.

The proposal to put solar power units on some foreclosed homes would work in tandem with another recently approved program using stimulus grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for "neighborhood stabilization."

The City Council recently agreed to use $2.4 million in stimulus money to form a land trust overseen by the nonprofit NewTown Community Land Trust, wherein the trust would buy up to 17 foreclosed homes in the 85225 ZIP code. The foreclosure rate in the area, bounded by Elliot and Ray roads and from Arizona Avenue to Alma School Road, approaches 40 percent.

The trust would retain title to the land, while potential homeowners would purchase only the home itself, meaning an affordable price. Morrison said spending $112,000 in federal grants to add solar power to the homes could save future homeowners up to $2,600 a year on utility bills.

Another idea calls for using solar power to heat water for showers at the Tumbleweed Recreation Center and a couple of fire stations, Morrison said.

"A solar water-heating system reduces the need for conventional water heating by about two-thirds," she said.

Other green projects to be funded by the latest stimulus involve the replacement of windows, equipment and light fixtures with more energy-efficient models.