The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in 2009 initiated the installation of a solar photovoltaic energy system to the roof of the Robert J. Dole U.S. Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas.
In early January of 2010, the installation was dedicated, with Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS3) joining GSA officials to honor the “green” installation, which consists of a “cool roof” membrane topped by more than 200 solar panels acting together to keep the building cool during warmer weather and generate electricity for use by building occupants.
Cool roof membranes are typically white or light-colored, and reduce the urban heat island effect (or UHIE, from asphalt and shingled roofs), which has been implicated in global warming and can raise inner city nighttime temperatures by more than five degrees (F).
The installation cost $1.6 million and created 100 temporary jobs, but the GSA also intends to invest another $3.1 million to make the building even greener, by upgrading infrastructure and operating systems, including high-performance lighting, high-efficiency chillers, and direct digital controls for the chilled water plant in this Energy Star-rated building...
The GSA, which is the government’s “real property” management arm, setting procurement standards and managing property, used a portion of its $5.5 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to facilitate the installation. The rest of the money will go toward similar energy (and energy efficiency) upgrades in federal buildings across the nation, reducing the federal government’s energy use and promoting clean, renewable energy technologies like solar.
The roof is reportedly one of the first of its kind in the Kansas City area, according to GSA Heartland Regional Commissioner Mary Ruwwe, who spoke at the January dedication. The installation facilitated the “green job” economy, Ruwwe added, because local roofers employed to install the roofing and solar system learned new skills that will aid them in future solar installations.
The roof will also act as a demonstration model for local government and the community, thanks to an interactive kiosk and panel display in the courthouse lobby which shows how solar panels work and records electricity production in real time.
Presumably, the Robert J. Dole Courthouse was chosen for the installation because of its age. A mere 16 years old, the building – and the roof – are new enough to support the weight of conventional solar panels, the heaviest of which exerts a load capacity of 113 pounds per square foot.
The most frustrating thing about the report, and the installation, is the fact that no one bothered to investigate or report actual electrical output. Assuming a high-average production rate of 180 watts per panel, the system likely produces 200 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day during the summer, and less in the winter. This 72,000 kilowatt-hours per year, or enough to run 6 average American homes, also prevents the production of more than 51 metric tons of carbon dioxide by fossil-fuel burning power plants, which is the equivalent of taking about 9 cars off American roads or planting 1,326 tree seedlings.
Surprising no one thought that important enough to mention.