The gold dome is no longer the only rooftop feature of note at the Capitol, where crews on Sunday installed two slates of solar panels on the west and south slopes.
The $31,000 project will generate enough electricity to power two homes and pay for itself through energy savings in the next 14 years.
The small-scale project — done more for educational purposes — is part of a larger state effort to green government and promote renewable energy, said Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien.
“We are trying to lead by example,” O’Brien said. “We’re putting them on the state Capitol here to show that it’s easy to do this and these projects can end up paying for themselves in very short order.”
Planners expect to fully hook up the 10-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system by December, when it will be used to run lights in the historic building.
A display in the museum under the dome will track energy generated by the Capitol panels and other projects, while informing visitors how many pounds of carbon pollution were avoided, according to project designer Bella Energy.
Earlier this year, the governor’s mansion got greener when crews installed the photovoltaic panels and a geothermal heat pump.
A much larger 100-kilowatt system is planned for the 1881 Pierce St. building in Lakewood, where several branches of the state Department of Revenue are housed.
No new tax money is being used for the projects, according to Lance Shepherd, manager of design and construction for the Department of Personnel and Administration.
A statewide energy-saving initiative started in 2003 has cut the state’s utility bills by more than $1 million a year, he said.
Those savings are rolled into additional renewable energy and greening projects.
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
