A big statement about solar power in state

At more than 1,173,600 square feet, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center roof is about 3 acres larger than the Boston Public Garden. Some say that makes the expanse a perfect site for solar power.

James E. Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, said he will know for sure early next year, when he expects to see the results of a $200,000 study to determine what size of solar installation the roof could support and how much money it might save on electricity.

"We have the biggest roof," Rooney said yesterday. "It's quite a building."

The center uses almost 27.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, at a cost of more than $4 million.

Modest estimates show the center's roof could handle a 500-kilowatt solar installation capable of generating a little more than 2 percent of the facility's electricity. A system that size - the largest in the state - would only take up about one-12th of the roof space.

With the center's more than 500,000 visitors each year, the installation would showcase the state's commitment to solar power, convention center and state officials said.

"An installation of this magnitude on the region's largest roof will send that message to convention goers around the world," said Ian Bowles, secretary of the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Governor Deval Patrick said, "This is an exciting initiative both to capture energy efficiencies and to display a new way of thinking in a large public space. I applaud the MCCA for their vision."

ERIN AILWORTH