LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Now that ground is officially broken at the future site of the Edgar County Public Safety Center (ECPSC), members of the Edgar County Board are shifting their attention to energy solutions for the new facility, specifically, solar energy solutions.
Josh Barrett, CEO of the Lemont, Ill.-based solar development company SolarShift, presented potential costs, benefits and project specifications for a solar panel installation at the County’s all-in-one jail, sheriff’s office and emergency dispatch center. The presentation took place Monday, July 22 during an Edgar County Board study session.
In recent years, Barrett and other solar providers have seen an uptick in the adoption of solar panels.
“The reason you’re seeing solar explode in Illinois is, one, solar prices have come down over the last 10 years exponentially,” Barrett said. “The other thing is the state has a law in place to go to 100 percent clean energy… by 2050. We don’t have the technology to do that today. But the goal is to get there.”
Barrett presented data from the U.S. Department of Energy indicating Illinois offers fairly good solar exposure. Illinois also lacks year-round heat, which can gradually decrease the efficiency of a solar panel.
“Overall, Illinois is actually fairly good for solar,” Barrett explained. “One thing solar likes is sun – one thing it hates is heat.”
For the Edgar County Board, solar power offers one clear benefit: savings. Rather than building out a larger solar operation, Barrett recommended the board consider installing a single row of panels south of the ongoing building project. A smaller solar farm could offset some of the facility’s utility bills while avoiding some of the red tape imposed on a larger solar system by power companies.
Even with a smaller system, Barrett projected energy cost savings of nearly $250,000 over the next 30 years. Currently, solar panels are under warranty for 25 years but can be used longer.
Barrett’s calculations also accounted for a steady increase in energy costs. As electric vehicles and other clean energy systems and amenities increase in popularity, and coal and gas plants are decommissioned under state regulations, the law of supply and demand is expected to take effect.
“That (projection) is with a three-percent escalation rate on it. Five years ago, people would argue a three-percent escalation rate is high,” Barrett told the board. “Well, in the whole of things, that was true, but when you start to look at energy… the supply side is coming down. It’s projected electric rates are gonna go up significantly, so a three-percent escalation rate is a very low, conservative rate.”
Other cost-related benefits of solar energy include the various incentives offered by government agencies for those willing to embrace alternative energy. As part of its push for clean energy (a term Barrett considers “relative” since nuclear energy is also considered clean according to state mandates), the State of Illinois is offering extra motivation in the form of Renewable Energy Credits, or RECs. RECs are “made-up entities” and serve as a measurement of clean energy being produced and used by any renewable energy source, whether solar, wind, hydro or something else.
A REC is generated for every one megawatt-hour (1,000 kilowatt-hours) of clean power produced, and utility companies can purchase RECs from private or residential solar operations to put toward their clean energy production requirements each year.
The U.S. Government also offers investment tax credits (ITCs) for solar builds separate from state-level programs. ITCs are worth 30 percent of the cost of any solar system installed between 2022 and 2033. For non-taxable entities like the county board, solar ITCs can be sold to other taxable entities for profit.
According to Barrett, if the board purchases a solar energy system as outlined in his presentation, they could expect the energy savings and incentives to surpass the total projected cost of the project after seven years of operation.
After Barrett’s presentation, the floor was opened to questions from the board. Discussions centered on cost estimates for installation, the durability and efficiency of solar panels and the expected wait time for tax credits and SREC payments, among other things.
Board member and District 4 representative Karl Farnham inquired about the lasting effects a solar installation may have on the farmland behind the ECPSC.
“I don’t like to take farmland up,” Farnham said. “That’s an issue for me.”
Barrett assured the board that the land could be reverted to farmland after the solar array runs its course, and using longer rows instead of shorter “stacks” of panels makes for a smaller overall footprint, meaning less ground would be used. Many components of the panels can also be recycled and reused.
“You’re back to native ground, basically,” he said.
The board took no official action on the matter but will continue to weigh its options as construction of the ECPSC progresses. Whether or not a solar array is constructed on jail property will depend on the contingency spending required to finish the project, which currently has a budget of just under $18.4 million.
“It’s not going to be an immediate thing. We’re going to have to see where we’re at with the building and some other issues to make sure that we have funds available,” said Edgar County Board Chairman Jeff Voigt. “But there’s enough (funds) built in there – it may be possible.”
Barrett was grateful for the board’s consideration and spoke highly of the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy.
“Solar is really starting to gain traction,” Barrett said.
Publisher’s Note: A solar energy project of significant scale will cost upwards of $30,000. Any local government expense above the $30,000 threshold must be put up for bids. The Prairie Press will not reveal cost estimates from Solar Shift to ensure the bidding process is fair and to comply with local law.