A fire station on Madison's east side received a solar-powered water heating system Wednesday as part of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's energy initiatives. The heating system cost the city about $16,000, and according to George Twigg, communications director for Cieslewicz, the cost of the solar-powered water heater will pay for itself after 10 years by using less energy. The plan originated in Madison's Sustainable Design & Energy Committee and was implemented by city engineer Larry Nelson. "Larry Nelson took the lead on this," Twigg said. "He has been evaluating all the buildings in the city and how they can become more energy-efficient." The city also recently announced a plan to replace some of Madison's diesel buses with hybrid electric-diesel buses. All of this is part of the mayor's goal to protect the environment and reduce energy costs in the face of the Madison's rapid growth and urban sprawl, Twigg said. The mayor's plan to reduce energy consumption has two goals — to save taxpayers money and help the environment — but Ray Allen, who is challenging Cieslewicz in tomorrow's mayoral primary, questioned the economic savings of new hybrid buses. "If you look at the cost of [the hybrid buses], they are larger than the regular buses and they don't fit into the current garages," Allen spokesperson Semmi Pasha said. "So we need to remodel the garages and we are looking into the cost of that." Twigg said smarter and more compact urban planning is also one of Cieslewicz's top priorities, because it will reduce energy consumption and commute times. "[Cieslewicz] believes that good planning and good land use is a way for cities to have a positive impact on the environment by putting policies in place that reduce sprawl and reduce the amount of farmland being eaten up by development," Twigg said. Pasha also challenged the mayor's statement that the solar-powered water heater will pay for itself over a short period of time. "The projections were one thing — right now they say it takes 10 years to pay it off, but it turned out it's going to be 1,000 years," Pasha said. "We want to do the research before we can fully commit to those plans." Peter Muñoz, who is also running for mayor in April, said he has years of experience working on energy and environmental issues. He worked six years with Madison's previous mayor, Sue Bauman, and was a member of the City of Madison Environmental Action Team. Muñoz said he became inspired by the environmental movement decades ago. "I've been an environmentalist ever since I read the book, 'Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth,' by R. Buckminster Fuller, in the early '60s," Muñoz said. "It really influenced me." He also said his accomplishments under Bauman highlight his commitment to environmental causes. "We joined the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives," Muñoz said. "We were only one of 50 cities with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol." Muñoz said he supported Cieslewicz when he ran for the office in 2003, but since then he has been disappointed with his environmental record. "The experimental solar panels behind the Municipal Building were part of my initiative, but the Mayor tried to take credit for it," Muñoz said. Although he supports the solar-powered water heater, Muñoz said he is disappointed Cieslewicz only revived his commitment to the environment right before the election. Cieslewicz, Allen and Muñoz will also face Will Sandstrom in the mayoral primary tomorrow. The general election will be April 3.