The Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) is looking for ways to work with the local utility entities. Toward that end, George Wilkes, Don Grant, and Virginia Danfelt attended the June 19, 2013 Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) meeting hoping to generate some interest.
Wilkes said he was hoping a staff member and PUC commissioner would join CCLEP’s electric utility working group. He said they are hoping to find projects that “make sense” for everyone and offered solar energy projects as a possibility.
“Community collaboration is good for getting grants,” Wilkes said, adding that CCLEP is interested in seeking funding for community solar energy.
PUC Chair Karl Hansen said the city has been starting to address renewable energy issues. One initiative was to establish a policy for customers tying renewable energy into the grid.
Don Grant said he is waiting for the sign that will eventually be installed by the solar array at the city-owned Gunflint Hills Golf Course. When the county’s fiber optic lines are up and running, the array’s performance measures will be available online.
City Administrator Mike Roth said that the city’s utility cooperative, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, has recently had to invest in transmission infrastructure, and so localizing energy production could be hard on the organization. “It’s not even a concern,” he said. “It’s a fear at this point.”
The government is mandating that energy producers increase their use of renewable energy, Hansen said, but it does take money out of the utility organizations’ pockets. He said the costs should not, however, be passed on to the lowest-income customers who can’t afford higher rates.
How could they support renewable energy while also keeping municipal utilities viable? Wilkes wondered.
“It’s complicated and difficult,” Hansen said. He said the cities of Owatonna and St. Peter are looking at solar energy installations.
The two PUC commissioners at the meeting, Karl Hansen and Tim Kennedy, expressed willingness to sit on CCLEP’s electric utility working group but said they have more meeting commitments and requests that they attend meetings than they can get to. Hansen said he was willing to be named to the group and keep up with what they’re doing and would attend meetings when he could.
The board passed a motion in support of the PUC working with CCLEP and appointing Hansen to the utility working group.
Don Grant said Joe Buttweiler of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc. was willing to participate as well.
The group discussed ideas for things that could be done to support renewable energy, such as low-interest loans for households to install renewable energy such as pellet stoves and thermal solar panels. A suggestion was made to talk to the county about how the county could help facilitate such loans like the county does with property owners needing septic improvements.
The numbers of people taking advantage of the city’s Conservation Improvement Program are low, Utility Administrative Specialist Jan Smith reported. It’s hard to get more efficiency out of the businesses, she said, and residential customers who could take advantage of energy-efficient appliance rebates are not replacing their appliances unless absolutely necessary. She attributed this to the difficult economy.
“There needs to be more creative thinking done,” Administrator Roth said. “It’s going to be difficult. It’s going to take some work.” Summer projects
On July 3, Water/ Wastewater Superintendent Tom Nelson reported that sewer lines on the streets just above and below the highway in downtown Grand Marais were being cleaned and inspected with remote cameras. Some cracks had been found in the pipes. The next step would be to cut out tree roots that had grown into the pipes. Taps protruding into the system from homes and businesses would be trimmed as well so that the cameras could maneuver through the system.
A 17-inch sewer pipe leading down Broadway by City Hall was found to be plugged. The pipe makes a sharp left at the corner outside City Hall. Nelson said the city must pay $250/hour to get pipes cleaned out.
Both the water and electric departments have been doing a lot of locating for MasTec, which has been installing broadband lines through town. MasTec has brought in workers from out of the state to help get the work done.
Electric Superintendent Mike Taylor said underground work was being done on electric line upgrades in Croftville. All necessary easements had been signed. He said, “Everybody’s happy, I think.”
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