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 Street. Council directed employees to proceed engaged on an settlement with Flathead Electrical Cooperative (FEC).
The group photo voltaic PV facility is prone to be a set panel system and produce about 200 KW. The services can be managed and maintained by the FEC.
New details about the effectivity of the wastewater remedy plant has helped decide that the group photo voltaic challenge can generate roughly one-third of the annual electrical energy wants of the wastewater remedy facility.
In early February 2022, the council directed metropolis employees to check this potential challenge and create a draft settlement with the FEC. In July, councilors thought-about a further plan to work with the FEC to put in a 200-kilowatt group 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 challenge, 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 may very well be bought by people for an estimated worth of $1,000 every and that there could be a federal tax rebate obtainable for purchasers of the panels.
Since then, two federal packages have been recognized to assist fund the challenge and with a purpose to apply for it, some modifications to the preliminary proposal have been made.
In line with the employees report, the FEC will apply for a USDA Rural Power for America Program grant for about 30% of the challenge’s price, roughly $140,000. To use, the challenge 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 can be considerably diminished from the unique estimate of $1,000 to between $400 and $700. On account of federal grant program necessities, FEC will promote the vitality output of the panel, slightly than the bodily panel.
“It isn’t the precise bodily panel being bought, it is the vitality output from the panel,” stated Whitefish Senior Challenge Engineer Karin Hilding.
Individuals who purchase panel vitality usually are not eligible for a tax credit score, nevertheless, the vitality produced by the panel is taken as an vitality credit score from the client’s utility invoice over time.
If town desires to purchase panels, Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman steered an possibility.
“The wastewater plant is healthier than they anticipated from an vitality perspective, so I anticipate $5,000 to $10,000 in extra funds that we do not spend on vitality,” 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 vitality use of native low-income residents. The FEC will coordinate this program with the LIEAP (Low Earnings Power 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 may very well be put in this summer time or fall.
