From a story by J.E. Espino in the Appleton Post-Crescent:KAUKAUNA — As the 1000 Islands Environmental Center's naturalist, Debbie Nowak's job is to educate visitors about natural resources and how to conserve them.
With energy costs continuing to rise, Nowak is especially stoked about showing off the solar panel units recently attached to the center's roof. The panels will produce enough energy to save 1000 Islands 30 percent of its average energy costs, estimates Kaukauna Utilities.
"Above and beyond that, it helps to portray more of an environmental message," Nowak said. "People can see that you need electricity to power everything. You can get solar energy and use it to power your entire house or a fraction of your house for even something as simple as your water heater."
The center is one of four sites the utility selected to test solar panel systems. The company will pay for similar projects at Kaukauna High School, its own building and possibly the homes of two employees.
Jim Brown, an energy services representative for the utility, said the utility will activate meters today at the high school and nature center to measure how much energy each system produces. The panel installation is being handled by H&H Electric Co. of Madison.
Photo: A crew from H&H Electric installs a solar electric system on a house just north of Madison.
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