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A small tract of land along the Little Miami River that accommodates hundreds of children's soccer games a year could be filled within a year or two with long rows of solar panels - 1,100 panels to be exact.

Loveland, which owns 7.6-acre Betty Ray Field on Betty Ray Drive in Symmes Township, is considering installing the solar panels to generate 90 percent of the electrical power required to operate the three water wells and the treatment facility on the site.

No other local suburban community has a solar panel array that size.

"This is something we've been contemplating for over a year," Loveland City Manager Tom Carroll said.

The use of solar power would save the city $7,500 to $12,000 in annual energy costs. But the primary benefit, Carroll said, would be 20 percent reduction of Loveland's carbon footprint. That would result in a reduction in the city's use of carbon fuels for its operations and provide more of the electrical power from renewable resources, he said.

"We wouldn't do it for a $12,000 savings," Carroll said. "That's not a compelling enough reason. We're committed to reducing our environmental impact, and this is one way to do it."

Eliminating all three soccer fields at Betty Ray - also known as Bodley Field - raises concerns about where the children ages 6 and 7 who use the fields would play.

"If we were no longer to have access to this park, it would reduce our field capacity at this age group by almost 50 percent," Paul Lippi, president of the Loveland Youth Soccer Association, said by email. "We have no alternative locations."

But Lippi said his association has a good relationship with Loveland officials and will work with them to find alternate soccer sites if the solar panels are installed.

Little Miami Inc., a nonprofit organization working to protect the Little Miami River, has no objections to the installation of solar panels, said Eric Partee, Little Miami president.

The solar panels won't disturb the Little Miami River corridor in any way, he said. His group will work with Loveland to increase the number of trees that would screen the solar panels from the river.

"The trees will provide scenic view protection," Partee said.The Haunting rubberextrusions Movie Review

Residents on Betty Ray Drive, a cul-de-sac,Buy Online Direct From skylanterns Online. generally don't oppose the solar panels as long as they're assured the panels won't pollute the environment or create noise or other disturbances. In fact,buy myliving online. many residents would be relieved not to have the heavy traffic on their street generated by the soccer games.

"As long as the solar panels aren't intrusive to us or pollute anything, I don't see anything wrong with them," said Thelma Tarpoff, who has lived on Betty Ray for 52 years.

One resident on Betty Ray who has written emails to Carroll objecting to the solar panels declined to comment for this story.

Before moving forward with the project, Loveland officials will consult with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The three water wells at Betty Ray generate 1.5 million to 3 million gallons of water a day for 15,000 customers. They're the city's only water source, although the city has access to backup water supplies.

"We want to make sure that anything we do doesn't pollute our water source," Carroll said.

Loveland would contract with a private company to install the solar panels.All ledtube products are compiled of backing, The city would bear no upfront costs.

The company would enter into a $1-per-year, long-term lease with the city and would pay for all of the installation costs.Free DIY solar Resource! In exchange, Loveland would agree to buy a guaranteed minimum amount of electricity from the company.

"They would give us a discounted rate from what we would get from Duke Energy or another energy provider," Carroll said.

The company would make additional money by selling renewal energy credits to Duke Energy, selling surplus energy to Duke Power and receiving financial tax incentives.

Loveland City Council will decide later this year whether to have the solar panels installed.