WATERVILLE, Maine (WABI) – The Alfond Municipal Pool Complex in Waterville cut a ribbon Thursday on a new feature that will save money for the taxpayer through a grant, costing them nothing.
The city’s pool unveiled solar panels that offset about 40% of the pool’s energy costs after seeking out innovative ways to both save money for Waterville and reduce greenhouse gas emisisons.
The grant came out of the governor’s office with installation coming around two months ago ahead of the summer season.
The project used $25,000 of the $70,000 dollar grant and organizers are hoping this inspires to families and municipalities to the use of renewable energy in the future.
“I think this is a great project to show other municipalities and folks that live in other municipalities that come to the pool, the potential of this stuff and I think it’s great for other businesses,” commented Community Development Specialist for AYCC Nate Bernard. “That they can see you don’t need to put it in a place that can obstruct anyone’s view. It’s not going to hurt the countrysides. You can put it right on a rooftop, existing infrastructure, and I think that a lot of other municipalities can look at this and see what they can do for themselves to reduce emissions but also save themselves money.”
The pool will officially be open for the season on June 13th.
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