Cape Cod Town Lights the Way - With Solar Power

If you come to Cape Cod this Summer and drive about halfway down the 65 mile long island/peninsula, you will arrive at the five villages that make up the Town of Dennis. Framed on the North by Cape Cod Bay and to the South by Nantucket Sound, the community is one of the most popular Summer destinations in the United States - it’s 14,000 year round population swells to almost 70,000 by Memorial Day.

Usually people come here for the incredible climate, sandy beaches, whale watches, music and quiet villages. But lately a few people have come to Dennis to look at our police station. It is brand new and residents jokingly call it the ‘Taj Mahal’ - but what is catching their eye, is what’s on the roof!

In October of 2010, the Town put 84 solar panels up there and by February, Dennis had saved about $1200.00 on its electric bill. That’s a huge savings when you consider that the panels had to do their work through a New England winter! And in December, production stopped for a while due to a heavy snow freezing on the roof.

In their first five months, the panels generated 7,892 kilowatt hours of electricity - reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 9,865 pounds. A sunny Spring and Summer season should see the energy production go through the roof!

The project cost $100,000 and was funded by grants from two agencies. It is expected that the panels will reduce the PD’s electrical expenses by four per cent annually. Over a 25 year period, this will result in a savings of $187,000.

Come on down to Dennis this Summer and check out our solar panels. You can drive here in less than six hours from New York City, two hours from Boston, and about seven hours from Montreal.

See you on the beach - or at the police station!

The tower is not really the old Dennis Jail.  It is Scargo Tower, at Cape Cod's highest point.  It overlooks Dennis' beautiful Scargo Lake which was created by the magic of an indian tribe called the Nobscusset, who were among the earliest residents of North America.  The story and mystery of the lake's creation is detailed in my hub  called the Legend of Princess Scargo.  Here's the link.  http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Legend-of-Princess-Scargo-Might-Just-be-TRUE