County Executive Crowley, Chairwoman Nicholson, County officials, and project partners at the unveiling of the solar panel array at the Marcia P Coggs Health and Human Service Center (Photo/Karen Stokes)

Milwaukee County leaders showcased a new clean energy project Friday with the unveiling of rooftop solar panels at the Marcia P.Coggs Health and Human Services Building.

County Executive David Crowley and County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson toured the 50-kilowatt system, which is expected to supply more than 11.5% of the facility’s energy needs. The 86-panel array, installed in June at 1230 W. Cherry St., will be fully operational in early October, signaling the county’s commitment to climate change mitigation.

Andrew Holmstrom of Arch Solar, the company contracted to install the panels, explained the impact: “What does 11 ½% mean? It’s equivalent to driving 100,000 miles in a passenger car, powering five homes for a year, or burning 41,000 pounds of coal. If you have an iPhone, that’s 3.1 million charges. Altogether, it offsets 37.2 metric tons of CO2.”

Recently installed solar panels on the roof of the Marcia P Coggs Health and Human Services Center (Photo/Karen Stokes)

The project is designed to cut utility costs, lower carbon emissions, and save taxpayer dollars. It is part of a $32 million relocation and redevelopment project funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Crowley signed the $441 million Climate Action 2050 (CA50) plan on April 25, committing the county to net-zero emissions by 2050 after already cutting emissions 46% since 2005.

The installation is part of Milwaukee County’s broader Climate Action 2050 Plan, aimed at reducing emissions and increasing sustainable energy use across county facilities.

“We believe climate change is real. We know that it’s threatening our quality of life, it’s threatening our environment. This is a prime example

Recently installed solar panels on the roof of the of what we’re going to be doing moving forward with our 2050 plan to lower our greenhouse emissions,” Crowley said. “Progress has already been realized through this effort, with Milwaukee County reporting a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 to 2023.“

Andrew Holmstrom from Arch Solar explaining the benefits of the solar panels
(Photo/Karen Stokes)

Nicholson echoed that commitment, “When the resolution was first put forward there was some skepticism, some apprehension, and I think seeing it now in real life and having my board colleagues see the savings that will come from this, and the fact that especially in budgets where we need to reinvest in our community, they’ll see the positive outcomes of initiatives like this, and I plan to put more forward. I fully expect that we’ll be able to do that.”

“We have to make sure that not only that we’re doing this, but how do we have conversations to continue to inform people how important it is to focus on green energy, solar panels, and things of that nature,” said Crowley. “It’s important as a community to think about more infrastructure projects and to think about how we can save energy.”

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