CODY - According to the old stone soup legend, villagers created a plentiful feast, despite famine, by starting a soup with nothing but a stone, the one thing that was plentiful around them. Cody artists Linda Raynolds and Elijah Cobb brought the legend to life in Cody on Wednesday when they opened their commercial studio space: Stone Soup.

The opening of the building nudged Cody into the vanguard of Wyoming's environmental energy movement, as the city will buy back surplus power generated at the studio.

Stone Soup is equipped with state-of-the-art solar electric panels by Scott Kane of Creative Energies based in Lander. The panels, situated on the south facing roof, contain silicon crystals that convert the sun's rays into usable electricity.

"Wyoming's most abundant natural resource is the sun, and during the summer these panels can produce 16 kilowatt hours of electricity, which, in a commercial space such as this, is a great deal more than will be consumed in the average day," Kane said.

One kilowatt hour is the energy it takes to power 10 100-watt lightbulbs for an hour.

What makes this project so unique is that any surplus power produced by these panels is fed back into the city's electrical grid, making the meter on the Stone Soup building run backwards.

Surplus energy produced by solar electric panels and other environmentally friendly private constructions was the impetus that led the Legislature in 2001 to pass a law requiring all investor owned utilities to pay independent power producers like Stone Soup for the extra energy they produce.

When Kane contacted Mike Muirhead, assistant public works director for the City of Cody, he found that Cody is exempt from this statute because the city purchases electrical power through its membership in the Wyoming Municipal Power Agency (WMPA) instead of from a power company. WMPA members are not required to allow for net metering under the provisions of the statute.

Muirhead, a board member of the WMPA, decided to pursue the request anyway because "We try to be a full service electric utility, and if it is a benefit to the customers, we want to do it."

Raynolds said she pursued solar electric power because "I want to see people look at this system and hopefully utilize the technology. The purpose is twofold, to help the environment, and in the long run, to save us money."

Raynolds and Cobb will not know how much money they're saving until the city balances their account at the end of one year.

In addition to solar electric panels, Stone Soup uses passive solar design and solar thermal panels which provide heating and hot water.

The building has five studios designed for artists, featuring skylights and sinks in each of the studios, and a shared room to showcase work to other artists or clients.

"This building is designed by artists for artists," Cobb said. "We created a comfortable, inspiring space for artists to work in."

Raynolds added, "As a Wyoming artist, I feel a commitment to art and other artists. I had an idea of how I could help foster others through this creative space. The contributions and creative input of many people have already gone into this building. It is my hope that it continues."

Casper residents may be familiar with Raynold's entry in the Home on the Range buffalo art project. Her buffalo, one of two cows on display, is pregnant and situated outside of Dr. Hugh DePaolo's obstetrics office.