The City of Grand Marais might be gaining a new power source with a 10.56-kilowatt solar photovoltaic electrical system at the Gunflint Hills Municipal Golf Course, thanks in part to support from the county. On Tuesday, April 13, 2010, the county board voted to provide a $5,000 match for the $106,686 project, which would be possible through an Iron Range Resources renewable energy grant.
As part of a 46% match, the City of Grand Marais has agreed to provide $8,000, and the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) – initiators of the grant application – would provide $2,000. Other donations of labor and discounted equipment would bring the match to $49,050.
A letter from CCLEP co-founder George Wilkes states, “The primary benefits of this project will go to city taxpayers who will, after a five-year payback, save $1,600 in energy costs per year for the life of the system, which is 20-30 years. …The city’s match of $8,000 was about all they could muster. This project would be the largest solar power installation in the county and one of CCLEP’s first actual in-the-ground installations. We are anxious to dig some dirt and turn some screws.”
Wilkes told the county board that the cost of traditional forms of energy has been rising about 8% a year. He believes the cost of electricity will increase even more in the form of a carbon tax if proposed federal capand trade legislation goes into effect.
“I’m in favor of such a thing,” Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said. “We’ve got to start someplace [to produce] energy locally.”
This grant is currently being offered only to cities, Wilkes said. The project could begin next fall or spring, and materials and a professional installer—Brian Bennett of Outback Solar—are available locally.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson wondered whether CCLEP could pursue projects that could help the county as whole, such as large-scale biomass and wind power. Those projects are being pursued, Wilkes responded, but they are much more complicated.
“We do have to get started one way or the other,” Commissioner Jan Hall said.
“In the future,” Sobanja said, “we’re going to need to use all viable methods of renewable energy.”
Commissioner Bob Fenwick agreed that the cost of coal-based energy is going to rise but contended that moving to renewable forms of energy will contribute to that rise. He said he would like to get an annual report of the solar project’s costs and savings. He pointed out that traditionally, the private sector has provided sources of energy rather than the public sector.
The board voted to contribute $5,000 in matching funds to be taken from county reserves, with the stipulation that they receive a report each year on how much system maintenance cost and how much money the system saved. • Wilkes reported that the county’s grant application to the Minnesota Office of Energy Security (OES) was tentatively awarded for upgrades to the courthouse’s HVAC system and improvements that would increase the building’s energy efficiency. An award of $80,242 is expected pending completion of compliance documentation requested by the office of Energy Security. • The Minnesota Department of Energy Security has responded to another grant request that would fund a consultant to help the county develop energy efficiency and renewable energy goals and policies and voluntary energy efficiency building guidelines. The City of Grand Marais had sent in a similar proposal. Rather than funding them separately, Wilkes wrote in a memo to the board, “The OES has notified both the city and the county that they would like to fund a joint city/county energy planning process in the amount of $50,000. At CCLEP, we think this is great news! and we are excited to participate in such a process. TheGrand Marais City Council has also voiced approval of this concept.”
Commissioner Fenwick said he hoped the guidelines could be available in time to be used in designing a new community center.
Wilkes said Commissioner Jim Johnson, out of town this month, has volunteered to help with this project. • CCLEP has also prepared a request for proposals from companies that could conduct a countywide biomass energy feasibility study to investigate the possibility of using local biomass to provide heating and possibly electrical plants on a large-scale (for county infrastructure), medium-scale (for townships), and small scale (for homes and small businesses) basis. Thecost of the study is expected to be between $30,000 and $60,000, Wilkes said. He would like to get a study underway soon so that any projects spawned from it could benefit from federal stimulus funding.
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