A bright idea

MINSTER - Two solar fields are yielding hefty energy cost savings for the village.

Officials look to the day when residents or businesses may seek to harness the sun's rays to trim their electric bills.

The latest solar field, located on a village wellfield off Minster-Fort Recovery Road, recently went online. Village Administrator Don Harrod said he expects the 4.6-megawatt solar field to produce savings similar to those from a 4.2-megawatt solar field built six years ago on the same wellfield.

The primary savings from the solar fields are from a reduction in power transmission costs.

"Because the solar fields are tied into our own system, we don't have to pay to get the power to us," Harrod said, noting the transmission savings from the first solar field ranged from $175,000 to $225,000 per year. "We are looking to get the same amount of savings from the second phase."

The village also reaps savings through peak shaving, Harrod said.

"Our peak is during the summer months, and it is usually between 3 and 6 or 7 o'clock at night," he said, noting that's when many people come home from work and turn on the air conditioning.

Instead of having to pay a premium on the open market for electricity to meet the peak demand, Harrod said the village uses power generated by the thousands of solar panels and power stored in large batteries located near the public works department on the northwest side of the village. The batteries can store 7 megawatts of power.

He said peak shaving saves the village a great deal in energy costs, but determining the exact savings would require a complicated analysis of energy prices on the open market at the exact times when the village draws on its solar energy resources.

Village officials are taking steps to assist residents and businesses interested in converting to solar energy.

Legislation was introduced at the March 2 village council meeting which would establish guidelines for the village to purchase solar power generated in excess of property owners' needs. Harrod said the payment would be set at the average cost per kilowatt hour the village incurs from all electric sources over a year.

"Right now we don't have anyone (generating solar power), but we're putting the procedures in place," he said. "As we all know, it's going to happen eventually."

Harrod said he has had calls from businesses and residents asking about solar power.

Legislation also is planned to establish requirements for businesses or residents to connect to the village electric system. The interconnect agreement would stipulate the need for a bidirectional meter and switch, which would be the customers' responsibility, according to Harrod.

Also on the village's energy agenda is the possible establishment of a community solar field.

"Just like a community garden, instead of people putting solar panels on their roof or yard, we would provide a place to put them in," Harrod said. Local businesses could also participate in the community solar field. "Within the next year or two we might start looking at it," he said.

Harrod said the village has an additional 10 acres at the wellfield where the community solar field could be built.

Harrod pointed out that the village has not incurred any debt for construction of the two solar fields, which cost about $7 million each or the $10 million battery storage facility.

"We were looking for a way to diversify our electric portfolio," Harrod said. "We didn't want to have the outlay of capital to put a solar field in so we started talking with different developers who could help us build a solar field."

The first solar field was developed by American Renewable Energy and the second phase was built by Eitri Foundry.

Harrod said the developers reap a return on their investments through federal income tax credits offered for solar projects and also on the sale of solar power to the village and on the regional electricity grid.

"We agreed to purchase all the electricity that is provided by the solar field, so they can count on us," he said, adding that the village has a 25-year agreement. Since the solar field developers are selling the power, the village also receives tax revenues from the transactions.