University Park Will Have An Eco-Friendly Christmas This Year
According to Gazette.net, a Maryland based site, in the University Park, this year there will be an eco-friendly Christmas since many light bulbs used will be energy-saving LED lights. The Christmas tree will also be powered using solar energy, for the first time ever. The University Park Solar Co-op is the one providing the solar panels.
The tree will be placed at Sheridan Street and Queens Chapel Road, and will be lit on Saturday night. It will use 10% of the amount of electricity used in former years. The co-op that was created by the residents has the goal of investing in renewable energy and they are doing that a lot. The tree is just a small part of a bigger project and they also want to set solar panels at the University Park Elementary School and the Church of the Brethren. Mayor John Tabori is particularly please with this situation as he has always sustained eco-friendly projects.
But one hard thing the locals could not do is set up a lot of panels. This is because the area has a lot of trees and they block the energy from the sun. This makes the installing difficult and also the sun power harvesting process. At first the co-op members wanted to purchase panels from Gaithersburg-based Standard Solar Inc. They made a deal with the company and they would only pay for the installation.
“The big problem is taking care of the earth. All the people are glad to be part of such a great project,” told Pastor Kim McDowell. They will also install some panels on the roof of the church in January or February, after figuring out the actual costs. Then they will do the same for the school. After installation the co-op will also be allowed to sell some RECs – renewable energy certificates. This will allow the members to make a small profit. This thing alone is a good incentive to go green and use renewable energy.
“We are very glad that many people will be making a some little money since it will motivate them to go green and that is very good,” Brosch said.
