Scott Horowitz, left, from TD Bank; Frank Ammendolea, trustee at the Franklin Square Library; Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray; Lisa Paulo, director of the Franklin Square Library; Nassau County Legislator Vincent Muscarella; Assemblyman Ed Ra; Fred McElderry, trustee of the Franklin Square Library; Bill Youngfert, trustee of the Franklin Square Library; Pat Galaskas, trustee of the Franklin Square Library; Vincent Giordano, of Tulip Caterers; and Michael Russo, trustee of the Franklin Square Library.
For some time, the Franklin Square Public Library has been using florescent lights, turning off computers at night and generally trying to respond to a Long Island Power Authority energy audit, but it has recently gone a step further. Now the library can actually generate energy via solar panels that were installed on the building’s roof in the fall. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m., the library unveiled its monitoring station, which will allow patrons to see how much energy is being generated by the solar panels in real-time reporting.
In the short time since the library’s panels were installed, they have produced 1,4000 kilowatts of energy — enough energy to power 1,371 computers for an entire day. With the help of a New York State library construction grant of $48,150, and a pre-approved LIPA rebate of $18,095, the library has brought the project in under the amount approved by taxpayers in the 2010-11 budget.
