The Idaho Youth Ranch is firing up a 300-panel solar array, the result of a gift from a Boise-based solar developer named Clenera. Sources say it's one of the largest solar powered net-metering projects in Idaho. The array of panels would be enough to power 25 homes, and has an estimated life of 20 years with very little maintenance, says Clenera.
"A project like this, it's going to help them free up so much more opportunities and money for them to accomplish it," said Dominic Howard, an alumnus of the Youthworks! program.
Clenera donated he solar system to the 258-acre "Hands of Promise" campus near Middleton, Idaho. Clenera's search for a place to give led them to the Idaho Youth Ranch. They say it will require very little maintenance over its service life
At about an acre large, the system provides about 25 houses worth of electricity to the Idaho Youth Ranch. 100% of the electricity it generates will go directly to the Idaho Youth Ranch according to Clenera.
