On Thursday, May 21, Neighborhood House unveiled a large banner promoting what will be the largest solar panel array in the state of Washington. The array will be installed atop the new High Point Neighborhood Center -- due to open in the fall in West Seattle's High Point neighborhood -- and will include 256 panels comprising 6,000 square feet.

The array is just one of the green features of the High Point Neighborhood Center--a LEED Gold certified building that will be home to critical social services as well as state-of-the-art environmental education programs aimed at the High Point community. The solar panels will light up Head Start and ESL classrooms, heat a Family and Teen Center, fuel a community kitchen, and save thousands of dollars a year--critical funds that will go to services and programs instead of electrical bills.

"The biggest solar array in the state is not on a rich person's house, but on a community center for the people. Everyday people.

This is an extraordinary, bold, breakout move that changes the agenda for the country."

~ Van Jones, White House Council of Environmental Quality

West Seattle's Nucor Steel Inc., located just south of the West Seattle Bridge, donated space on one of their buildings to hang the advertisement, as well as $50,000 towards construction of the $13 million center. Nucor is also donating the installation of the 40 feet tall, 25 feet wide banner, which will be visible to commuters on the West Seattle Bridge.

The unveiling of the banner will help launch the Solar Panel Challenge, which aims to generate sponsorship of each of the center's 256 solar panels. Scores of panels have already been sponsored, some by individuals and others by groups that have teamed together. The challenge will officially kick off on the longest day of the year--the summer solstice on June 21.

To view computer animation of a 360-degree fly-by of the center, click here.

To schedule a tour of the construction site and learn about the sustainable features of the soon-to-open building, contact Alex Wang at (206) 461-8430 ext. 257 or alexw@nhwa.org.