City signs on for Adopt-a-Watt program

TAYLOR — This spring, the city might be a little greener.

The City Council recently signed on to the national Adopt-a-Watt program, which will generate solar electricity.

Adopt-a-Watt is a Royal Oak-based company that captures energy and returns it to the community for use.

Solar panels or solar lights might be going up around the city to produce savings. The solar fixtures have a dual purpose. They help cities reduce energy costs and they are an advertising tool for corporate sponsors, said Thomas Wither, chief executive officer of Adopt-a-Watt.

What Adopt-a-Watt does is seek corporate sponsors to pay a fee for solar panels or solar lights, he said. The panels or lights are erected in the city and a sign is posted with the name of the sponsor.

Everyone wins with the program, Wither said, adding that it helps cash-strapped communities use less energy and save money.

The city also receives a percentage of the sponsor fee, and the advertisers have their names before the public 365 days a year, he said.

Savings can be up to $116,000 a year, depending on the sponsorship fees, which are determined in a virtual auction when the solar fixture goes up, Wither said.

For the companies to get the biggest bang for their buck, Adopt-a-Watt looks for large, visible sites that attract many people to erect the solar panels, said Bob Mach, city Department of Public Works superintendent.

In addition to providing publicity for the corporate sponsor, it also creates good will between the sponsor and residents in the community, Wither said.

He and Mach have found 15 to 20 potential sites, and he expects that the first solar panel will be erected in the spring.

Mach said it helps the city reduce its dependence on foreign oil and protects the environment.

Taylor is the first city in Wayne County to sign on with Adopt-a-Watt. Ferndale and Royal Oak participate, and so does the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, according to the firm’s Web site.

“Taylor is way ahead of the curve,” Wither said.

He spoke to the City Council last month and was referring to the city’s green focus with alternative fuel vehicles and solar panels at the Heritage Park Petting Farm, and its plans to harness wind energy.

Because of those programs, the city was ripe for a program like Adopt-a-Watt, Mach said.

The life span of a solar light is about 35 years, Wither said.

About $600 billion a year is spent on advertising, and Wither said his goal is to capture 10 percent of that money through Adopt-a-Watt.

“We can get their name in front of the public,” he said.

The Adopt-a-Watt program is modeled after the national Adopt-a-Highway program, in which corporate sponsors pay a fee to clean up an area of the highway, and a sign is erected to let passers-by know.

Wither seeks to do the same with energy conservation through installing the solar panels and erecting signs for those who pay for them.

The money generated from the Adopt-a-Watt program is restricted, and can be used only for energy efficiency, Mach said. For example, he said the city can use it for reducing fossil fuel consumption.

By Anne Sullivan, The News-Herald Newspapers
January 7, 2008