Tri-Towns Bureau

SIDNEY — When the sun shines on the Sidney Memorial Library a little extra juice will be flowing through the building. Electrical juice.

The library is adding 22 solar panels, library Director Mary Grace Flaherty said. The work, which started Wednesday, is expected to be finished by the weekend, she said.

When operational, up to 10 percent of the electrical needs of the building will come from the renewable resource, which is expected to save about $1,500 a year at today's energy costs, she said.

To make the news even brighter, she said, the entire cost of the project will be paid for from funds outside the library's budget. The local library is a school district library primarily funded by taxpayers, and Flaherty said she is always looking for ways to save money.

Earlier this year the project received a $52,800 grant from the state Energy Research and Development Authority, said Sidney library board President Theodore Wilklow. The Fred and Irene Smart Trust, which was established by the one-time Sidney residents to pay for the library's capital needs, agreed to pay the balance, library officials said.

To ensure "quality control," Coleen Quinn, a spokeswoman for the energy authority, said, the state grant was awarded directly to ETM Solar Works of Endicott — who will do the installation. The firm meets all the authority's requirements, she said.

Quinn said the fact that the grant was for the library system helped it in the selection process.

"One of our goals is to increase the use of renewable energy in the state," she said.

With people already coming to the library to learn about a variety of subjects, she said, the site will be a "good model for others to see about how photovoltaics work."

When the work is finished, Flaherty said, library visitors will also find an educational kiosk about solar energy that was included in the grant. The kiosk will explain how solar energy works.

The system, Quinn said, will be capable of producing 101/2 kilowatts of energy. By comparison, she said the typical house system produces 21/2 kilowatts

When the sun isn't shining, the library will continue to get its electricity from current supplier, New York State Electric & Gas Corp., Wilklow said.

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