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ALBANY, GA --

The chamber of commerce is now operating on solar power!

In an effort to go green, there is now a five kilowatt solar panel system on the roof of the Chamber of Commerce building.

Albany is said to have 224 sunny days a year compared to a national average of 205 days, which makes it an ideal location for energy production of this kind. It doesn't interfere with the historical integrity of the structure since it's not directly attached to the building and can’t be seen from the street, but it is helping offset energy pulled directly from the local energy grid.

“It'll produce about 6,000 kilowatt hours a year so it could power a medium sized home if it was on a medium sized home,” says VP of the Economic Development Commission Justin Strickland.

"The systems were funded in part through a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority applied for the grant on behalf of the Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) and the latter’s municipalities, which include the Albany Water, Gas & Light Commission. System costs not covered by the grant were supplied by WG&L" say chamber officials in a press release Wednesday.

The release goes on to say that through the grant, about 15 of the Suniva systems, manufactured in Norcross, Ga., have been installed throughout the state by Radiance Solar of Atlanta. The panels will be active indefinitely.