SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) Board of Trustees approved the designs for two libraries to receive rooftop and parking canopy solar installations amid a larger push to retrofit municipal structures underway across the city.
During a Wednesday afternoon meeting, trustees also approved seven other branches that could move forward with similar projects.
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Getting here
The move comes as San Antonio continues to make ongoing efforts to install solar panel infrastructure at 42 city facilities.
In November 2023, San Antonio City Council approved the $30 million project.
The project supports the city’s goal of carbon neutrality on municipal buildings — San Antonio has set a goal to reach this by 2040 — and combines local and state funding for clean energy incentives.
Almost a year after council approved it, the initiative was officially commissioned with six projects.
As of mid-February, 14 of the 42 projects had been commissioned. Additions from the project range from installs on rooftops to parking canopies.
San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability has worked closely with SAPL to consider the technical needs of each project.
“Installing onsite solar at Library locations and other municipal facilities reduces our carbon footprint, enhances library spaces, and provides substantial benefits for library patrons and the entire San Antonio community,” said interim library director Kathy Donellan in an email to KSAT.
The library director proposes improvements to library locations to the board for approval; those recommendations typically consider the functionality and aesthetics of the proposed project’s potential impacts, SAPL Marketing Manager Scott Williams said in an email to KSAT.
Las Palmas and Brook Hollow
Las Palmas on the West Side and Brook Hollow on the North Side are the two locations expected to begin implementing their own solar installations following approval from trustees.
Ashley Williams, an energy manager at San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability, described to trustees during the meeting what the project is expected to generate for the locations and for the city.
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Expected to save the city $1.8 million annually in energy costs
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Offset approximately 11% of the city’s total electricity usage
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Help to reduce the city’s building-related emissions by 18%
Las Palmas was initially brought to trustees last year as a parking canopy and a roof installation. However, trustees requested only the roof installation so as not to block future public art and an expansion of the front of the building.
The Office of Sustainability went back to work with Big Sun Solar, the project’s provider, to redesign the layout.
The preliminary design layout for Las Palmas presented Tuesday is a 207-kilowatt installation expected to offset approximately 81% of the energy at the branch, Williams said.
Also initially presented last year, Brook Hollow is set to receive a canopy structure placed over a new parking lot, Williams said. The 122-kilowatt structure is expected to offset approximately 76% of the building’s energy.
Google Maps of the site shows a completed parking lot as of December 2024.
Regarding the Brook Hollow project, one of the trustees asked for details about some of the project’s coverage.
“Generally, we are limited by how much energy we want to produce,” Williams said. “So we don’t want to build the system to produce more than 80% on average of what the building is producing; so we don’t want to build more than what the building needs.”
Williams said it could also be due to connection points needed for running the conduits for the panels.
SAPL’s facilities committee approved the designs for the Las Palmas and Brook Hollow Branch Libraries during a Feb. 12 meeting, according to the presentation documents.
The trustees unanimously moved to approve the on-site designs at the two branches.
Seven other sites
Some of the sites initially thought not to be feasible to receive installations from the city project ended up catching the attention of the Office of Sustainability.
The office approached SAPL, knowing the trustees were eager to see more library locations participate.
Interim library director Kathy Donellan said the office proposed seven other sites for project participation, pending the board’s approval.
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Bazan Branch Library: 122.6-kilowatts
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Encino Branch Library: 143-kilowatts
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McCreless Branch Library: 122-kilowatts
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Maverick Branch Library: 157.85-kilowatts
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Memorial Branch Library: 85.8-kilowatts
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Mission Branch Library: 191-kilowatts
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Schaefer Branch Library: 151-kilowatts
After a presentation and brief discussion, the board approved the proposal to forward the projects with designs for each, which will likely come during a later board meeting.
“The San Antonio Public Library is fully committed to the Municipal Onsite Solar program as we continue to identify additional opportunities for these improvements at Library locations throughout San Antonio,” Donellan said.
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