Photo Credit: SANYO This week marks a very special milestone for the Salem Convention Center. As of March 18, solar panels have generated power at the Salem Convention Center for one year. The SANYO HIT Power® 220A solar panel 99-kilowatt system was installed in March 2011. Look how busy they have been this past year! 120174.19 Killowatt Hours generated to date Total Energy Generated Equals : 685 60 Watt Bulbs for 1 year of 8 hour/day use Total CO2 Offset Equals 2163 Trees Total Energy Generated Equals 86 Tons of CO2 Saved Total Energy Generated Equals 974 Gallons of Gas Saved Meeting planners holding events here can feel good that a portion of the electricity used to conduct their meetings will be directly generated by the sun! Our solar panel system was installed last year by InSpec Group. “InSpec engineers designed the most efficient solar panel system available to meet our environmental goals and save us money by lowering our energy costs,' said Chrissie Bertsch, General Manager of the Salem Convention Center. “It is also exciting and satisfying to know that we were able to source our products from local manufacturers and suppliers, like SANYO, as much as possible, keeping the money we spend in our local economy.” SalemBlock has the first hotel, restaurant and conference center in Salem and Marion County to be EarthWISE certified and the Salem Convention Center is LEED® Certified. Green practices on “The Block” include: SANYO HIT Power® 220A solar panel 99-kilowatt system Composting throughout entire facility Utilizing Earth friendly cleaning solutions and drainage system Supporting local economy by purchasing products and food from local suppliers Using recycled paper for all printed material Purchasing wind power through PGE Replacing all lighting with cool white compact fluorescent lighting Extensive recycling of all plastic material and Styrofoam Participating with “Clean the World,” by recycling all used soap products from guest rooms Encouraging guests to re-use their bedding and towels to cut down on energy use Sleeping room and public area recycling Operating on Energy Star appliances
