PORTLAND, Maine - The city of Portland has extended until Aug. 20 a public bid for installing solar power systems on as many as five municipal rooftops. City officials say they want to reduce the carbon footprint of the city's day-to-day operations, and optimize electricity rates.
Troy Moon, Portland's environmental programs manager, says officials are interested in seeing if there are any local providers willing to install solar panels. He says Portland would buy the electricity that is generated.
"The arrangement we are looking for with the vendors is a power purchase agreement," Moon says. "Basically, they would install and own the equipment that would generate the solar energy, and we would agree to purchase the power from them."
Moon says Portland doesn't have a lot of experience with renewable power. He says that several years ago many city buildings were converted from oil to natural gas and are now looking to make a foray into solar.
