Check it Out: Denver Public Library Powered by Solar & Battery Storage
Energy storage provider Viridi and building services firm McKinstry teamed up to deliver on-site power at the Denver Public Library main branch in downtown Denver.
At the heart of the installation is Viridi’s RPSLinkEX battery storage system coupled with rooftop solar at the library. The behind-the-meter project will store solar energy and discharge during peak periods, helping reduce load and the library’s energy costs.
During outages, however, the Viridi battery storage energy can directly power Denver Public Library.
“Public facilities like the Denver Public Library are at the forefront of demonstrating that energy resilience and safety can go hand in hand,” said Jon M. Williams, CEO at Viridi. “This installation highlights how fail-safe battery storage can empower communities to maximize renewable energy, reduce costs, and maintain reliability—all without compromise.”
The solar and battery storage combo is a distributed energy resource (DER) system but not a full microgrid with controllers. The DER is fully integrated into the library’s existing electrical infrastructure and is being monitored through Viridi’s ViSTA Dashboard.
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McKinstry led the installation process of the solar and batteries on-site. The Denver Public Library solar and storage is called a first for major city governments in the region.
“The McKinstry team is proud to deliver the first solar and battery energy tsorage system project for the City and County of Denver,” said Jon Ensley, Sr. Construction Project Engineer at McKinstry. “This milestone reflects the power of collaboration with our partners and stakeholders. Viridi’s fail-safe battery technology and seamless deployment made it possible to bring this innovative, resilient energy solution to life for the Denver Public Library.”
Denver’s Central Library is located in the Golden Triangle district of downtown. The facility was completed in 1995 and only two years later hosted the G8 global political summit featuring leaders from eight of the world’s most powerful countries, including the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Canada, European Commission and, at that time, Russia.
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About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.