COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Bartholomew County Humane Society has always tried to find ways to use more of their limited financial resources to help animals.
Now, that job has gotten easier.
The Humane Society and animal shelter, located at 4415 E. County Road 200S, received $46,000 in grants to purchase and install solar panels, spokeswoman Cheryl Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury said. Installation has taken place over the past two weeks.
The two largest grant providers are the Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew Count and the Henry Conover Foundation. Additional funds were provided through the Custer-Nugent Foundation and individual donors, Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury said.
A total of 64 solar panels are expected to provide the Humane Society with electricity for the next 40 years, said Steve Ricketts, co-owner and manager of Solar Energy Solutions LLC. It was Ricketts’ firm, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, that installed the panels for the Humane Society. The firm has also recently completed larger projects for Northside Middle and Taylorsville Elementary schools, Ricketts said.
After consultation with the Columbus Solar Initiative, the Humane Society estimates those panels should offset about one-third of the organization’s energy costs, Zuckschwerdt-Ellsbury said. Currently, it costs about $1,000 a month to air condition the 8,000-square-foot building during the summer, so the savings should be more than $300 a month, she said.
Shelter manager Kirsten VantWoud said she’s delighted with the opportunities that come with solar energy.
“This will ultimately mean more funds to help shelter animals and pay for spay and neuter surgeries,” VantWoud said. “It will allow us to spend more in areas like outreach and medical care, instead of paying large utility bills.”
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
