Winnemucca News

Winnemucca News

School board looks to solar projects to reduce energy costs - 08-12-2010

WINNEMUCCA — Humboldt County School District is considering a huge “green” step with an impressive solar panel project.

At a time when budget cuts are foremost on many minds, such a large capital project might seem ill-advised, but school board members believe the opposite is the case. The initial cost of installing the panels at several schools in the district would be largely paid back by a rebate from NV Energy. On top of that, the savings in utility costs is estimated at $200,000 a year.

Board member, Andrew Hillyer said energy savings like that could make a big difference for the District. “If we didn’t have to spend that $200,000 on utility bills we could spend it elsewhere, such as paying the salary and benefits for two or three teachers.”

Three different scenarios are being considered by the school district.

Option one is a relatively small project and was already approved by the board a month ago. It would cost a little over a million dollars initially – but $865,000 of that would be rebated by NV Energy, and the district would save the cost of 173 kilowatt hours annually.

Option 2 would add more solar panels for a total project cost of $3.57 million, with a rebate of $3.11 million and a savings of 623 kilowatt hours.

The third option would add the largest number of solar panels at a cost of $5.67 million dollars with a rebate of $5.1 million. The yearly energy savings with option 3 are estimated at $200,000 every year.

School board members heard from representatives from Hamilton Solar, a Reno company working on solar panel projects for several school districts including Pershing County. Hamilton Solar will be the company designing and installing the solar panels, and representatives were at the meeting to explain the projects and answer questions.

Board members wanted -- and received -- assurances from the Hamilton Solar representatives that NV Energy would come through with the promised rebates.

They explained that NV Energy customers are already paying a fee to support the rebates as part of their monthly bill (an average of $1 a month for each customer) In addition, the Public Utilities Commission’s oversight board ensures once a proposed project has received rebate approval from NV Energy, they have to follow through with the payment.

If the school board members vote to move ahead with the larger solar project it will be necessary to get medium-term financing to pay the construction costs until the rebates come through and the savings are realized.

Assistant Superintendent Dave Jensen explained, “The district would not be able to ‘float’ the initial cost for the time period until the rebates and savings come in.” However, he was quick to add all interest and project costs will be covered by the amount coming in from rebates and utility savings.

The next school board meeting will include a public hearing to go over the projects being considered, the rebate process, the energy savings, and the financing proposal. The district is making an internal effort as well to make sure its own employees have a clear understanding of the proposed project.

Written by Joyce Sheen - Silver Pinyon Journal - 8/12/10

• Winnemucca News