McHENRY – James Scholtz has helped re-energize the McHenry Public Library.

"When we did the remodeling project back in 2009, we talked about solar panels but the technology just wasn't there," Scholtz said. "We always knew we wanted to make it as green of an environment as we could and do our due diligence to reduce our energy use."

While the panels will be inaccessible for public tours because of their location on the roof, Scholtz said there will be a station in the library where visitors can monitor the energy the panels are producing and view them on a screen thanks to a mounted camera on the roof.

The monitoring information will show how much energy the panels are producing and how much carbon dioxide is avoided because of the natural source. Scholtz said he hopes to have that feature running next month while the camera could be installed in March.

Solar panels are the beginning of the green efforts, Scholtz said. He hopes to expand that feature to a 20-kilowatt system eventually and add wind power to the facility so there can be green energy year-round. Scholtz said he plans on presenting a wind power option that could mirror the alternative turbines installed on the roof of a Rockford Christian High School building.

"We want to produce at least half our own energy," Scholtz said...

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