The Huntington Woods Men’s Club is donating a $50,000 photovoltaic array to the Michigan town’s recreation center. The donation was primarily made to serve educational functions but will also offset the center’s energy use.

The donation was announced in early 2010.

“It’s been about a year in the works,” said men’s club president Jay Qualman. “Every year, we have an auction and do a big project. This was 2010’s auction project.”

Ronald Gillham, the mayor of Huntington Woods, said it would take roughly 56 years to pay for the system in terms of electric savings and called it a demonstration project. Still, the town council unanimously approved project in late January.

It is now preparing to hold an open bid for the project. Construction, which will follow the bidding process, is expected to start in the spring, Qualman said.

Men’s club member Steve Aiello told the Daily Tribune that the project should cut the recreation center’s electric bills by $500 to $2,000 on a yearly basis.

“It won’t run the place, but it will provide some energy savings,” he said.

The original project was intended to feature renewable energy prominently at the center for educational purposes, according to Qualman. As such, the installation originally featured both a solar array and a wind turbine.

“Further research determined that the windmill would be very inefficient,” he said. “So we decided to eliminate that and increase the solar array.”

The photovoltaic array also was moved from the recreation center’s land to its roof.

“It’s going to be on the roof, but there will be a display at the recreation center showing how much energy is being produced by the panels,” Qualman said.

Given the recreation center’s location next door to the local elementary school, the array should help boost the educational aspect.

“There’ s an enrichment program at the recreation center that kids go to after kindergarten and also a latchkey kid program,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll see the alternative energy sources and get it in their heads—the earlier the better,” he said.

Pictured: A similar community solar project in Rosendale, N.Y.