Mayor Mike McGinn will be at Jefferson Park at 4:15 this afternoon with representatives from City Light and Parks and Recreation to announce Community Solar, a new solar energy program for city residents, in conjunction with new solar picnic shelters at the Park.

The new picnic shelters have roofs made of solar panels, and will not only provide sheltered picnic sites, but also produce an estimated 24,000 kilowatt-hours of of energy each year, enough to operate 3 households.

City Light customers can participate in the Community Solar project by purchasing “solar units.” A portion of the energy generated by the project will then be credited annually to each member’s power bill. Founding members will also have their names displayed at the project site in Jefferson Park. Find out more about the program at the Seattle Community Solar project website.

A workshop will be held at Jefferson Community Center next Tuesday, June 28, to explain the program and provide more information about signing up. You can register for the workshop here.