This was on the May 26, 2004 PUD News Line from the Chelan County PUD , www.chelanpud.org and shared with us by Pamela Burton:

Turning sunshine into gold

Volunteers from Alcoa's Wenatchee Works installed eight solar panels at Wenatchee High School on May 21. The high school is the first public school in Chelan County to receive the panels under Alcoa's Community Solar Endowment.

The panels are located on the south side of the school, near the rear entrance, and are mounted on a pole that rotates to track the sun. This provides for maximum sun exposure and energy production.

Under the Alcoa endowment, all public schools in Chelan County will receive solar panels, along with six nonprofit community agencies.

Half the revenue from the solar power generation at each site will be returned to the school or nonprofit organization. The other half will be placed into a trust fund to be used at Alcoa's discretion for community projects.

Payments to the participants for the energy generated will be made through Chelan County PUD's SNAP (Sustainable Natural Alternative Power) program, which relies on customer donations for support.

When the school installations are complete, Wenatchee will have more grid-connected solar power than any other city in Washington.

Students interested in learning more about alternative energy can visit the PUD's Web site at www.chelanpud.org/SNAP.