The Whitefish Metropolis Council held a piece session earlier than their final common assembly to debate the set up of a photo voltaic photovoltaic panels facility close to the wastewater remedy plant alongside Monegan Highway. Council directed workers to proceed engaged on an settlement with Flathead Electrical Cooperative (FEC).
The neighborhood photo voltaic PV facility is more likely to be a set panel system and produce about 200 KW. The amenities shall be managed and maintained by the FEC.
New details about the effectivity of the wastewater remedy plant has helped decide that the neighborhood photo voltaic undertaking can generate roughly one-third of the annual electrical energy wants of the wastewater remedy facility.
In early February 2022, the council directed metropolis workers to check this potential undertaking and create a draft settlement with the FEC. In July, councilors thought of an extra plan to work with the FEC to put in a 200-kilowatt neighborhood photo voltaic panel array on a one-acre city-owned property.
On the time, Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman stated that whereas town devoted an acre of land for this undertaking, all upfront and upkeep capital prices have been and nonetheless are the FEC’s accountability. standing.
Earlier discussions additionally talked about that, maybe the panels might be bought by people for an estimated value of $1,000 every and that there could be a federal tax rebate accessible for purchasers of the panels.
Since then, two federal packages have been recognized to assist fund the undertaking and with a purpose to apply for it, some modifications to the preliminary proposal have been made.
In response to the workers report, the FEC will apply for a USDA Rural Vitality for America Program grant for about 30% of the undertaking’s price, roughly $140,000. To use, the undertaking should first be designed, bid and a contractor chosen. The applying is due on the finish of March.
The FEC may additionally qualify for the federal authorities’s 30% tax credit score for photo voltaic initiatives beneath the Inflation Discount Act.
With these federal packages, the panel’s price per member shall be considerably lowered from the unique estimate of $1,000 to between $400 and $700. On account of federal grant program necessities, FEC will promote the power output of the panel, moderately than the bodily panel.
“It isn’t the precise bodily panel being offered, it is the power output from the panel,” stated Whitefish Senior Challenge Engineer Karin Hilding.
Individuals who purchase panel power are usually not eligible for a tax credit score, nonetheless, the power produced by the panel is taken as an power credit score from the client’s utility invoice over time.
If town desires to purchase panels, Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman urged an possibility.
“The wastewater plant is best than they anticipated from an power perspective, so I anticipate $5,000 to $10,000 in further funds that we do not spend on power,” Workman stated. “We do not know precisely what a panel will price however we expect that may give us about 10 panels.”
The Bonneville Environmental Basis has expressed curiosity in buying some panels and donating them to offset the power use of native low-income residents. The FEC will coordinate this program with the LIEAP (Low Earnings Vitality Help Program) operated by the Neighborhood Motion Partnership of Northwest Montana.
The proposed settlement between town and the FEC is for a 30-year time period and continues to be being negotiated. The panels might be put in this summer season or fall.
