Would a solar garden be as well received in Grand Marais as it has in Moorhead, Minnesota?
Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) board member George Wilkes wants to find out, and with the backing of the other two PUC board members Tim Kennedy and Karl Hansen, Wilkes is doing some homework to see if it is feasible.
At the PUC’s last meeting on Wednesday, January 20, Wilkes said interest in a proposed solar garden in Moorhead was so great the city had to double the size of the project so residents who were interested could take part in purchasing the renewable power.
Originally the solar garden called for 66 solar panels but the city’s utility, Moorhead Public Service, increased the number of panels to 144 and expects more growth because there are still people on the waiting list.
Wilkes said one of the reasons the project is so attractive to customers in Moorhead is because the city started planning and budgeting for it several years ago. According to Wilkes, the city budgeted to subsidize the cost to enter the program.
Currently, Moorhead residents receive a license to purchase a solar panel for 20 years at $480. Customers receive an annual electric credit for the energy produced from the panel, less maintenance costs. An annual electric credit is expected to be worth about $40 per panel.
Energy produced by a solar panel goes onto the electric grid, so a person buying a panel won’t necessarily receive electricity generated from his or her purchase, however, this offers a way for people who rent or live in houses where there is too much shade to install panels to participate in the program.
Wilkes said another way the city could “go solar” would be to participate in Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s (SMMPA) 5-megawatt solar garden that will be built near Rochester, Minnesota once the contract is finished.
“They are building this on a utility scale. It’s the most economical way to produce solar electricity for customers,” said Wilkes.
By participating in SMMPA’s project, the city wouldn’t have to build its own solar garden, Wilkes said, and customers could still purchase licenses for solar panels and get credit.
If the city were to pursue building a solar garden, Wilkes suggested starting small, maybe building a 20 kilowatt (Kv) garden that has 70-80 solar panels. He suggested it could go on the rooftop of the city’s proposed garage on the land recently purchased on the hill west of Grand Marais behind the old Tomteboda Motel.
In Moorhead, the artistic community was asked to help beautify the solar garden built in September 2015 by the city.
Wilkes asked Roth if he could develop a business plan, “to see what the economics look like, to see what the cost to the customer would be.”
“I could give you one or two pages to break down costs, but I don’t have time to develop a 60-70 page business plan,” Roth said. Wilkes said that would work to get an initial idea of its feasibility.
Should the project go forward, Wilkes, who has attended one SMMPA solar working group meeting, said SMMPA could purchase solar power for 8.8 cents per kilowatt-hour from the city. He said it would cost the city between 11 and 13 cents to generate a kilowatt, and added it would take between 12-15 years to pay for the project.
“There are good environmental and social reasons to pursue this,” said Wilkes, adding, “As long as it is affordable.”
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