Iola City Council members have two weeks to once again chew on a proposal that would integrate solar power into the city’s energy portfolio after hearing a proposal Monday for a 4-megawatt solar plant on the west edge of town.
Iola’s energy consultant Scott Shreve and Rick Borry of Priority Power Management LLC — the company that would build the plant and control it for at least the first five years — explained the advantages to the city, namely the ability to secure a block of electricity for a known amount for at least 30 years.
The cost would vary, depending on the timeline explained, from $4.5 million due in five years, or $3.6 million in 10.
The advantage to earlier ownership is the city would be able to generate the electricity at a negligible cost, and would not have to buy it from Priority Power.
The proposal comes after Council members voted down a similar proposal from Westar in 2019.
So what changed?
Namely, the cost of natural gas, which is calculated into the cost of energy the city buys each month.
Shreve estimated having the solar plant online would save Iola about $200,000 a year.
And while energy prices have traditionally been a roller-coaster for generations, projections are that the price of natural gas will stay elevated for a while, Shreve said.
The Priority Power proposal would utilize about 25 acres of city-owned property west of Russell Stover Candies, with an additional buffer around the perimeter prohibiting tall structures that could block needed sunlight from the panels.
The panels would rotate to follow the path of the sun each day, a slightly higher cost than fixed panels, but worth the extra dollars because of the extra energy produced, Borry explained.
While the panels are reliant upon light (and not heat) to generate electricity, they are nevertheless more productive from late in the morning to early evening, with half of the energy produced each year coming from June through September.
That is key, Borry said, because that also coincides with when the city’s energy demands are at their highest.
Borry explained how solar projects such as this one would be more financially advantageous for municipalities than if cities were to build on their own, because private companies are able to take advantage of federal tax credits.
“If you were to build this project, it would cost almost twice as much as what a private entity would pay,” he said.
Those same regulations also dictate private companies maintain ownership for at least five years after they’ve built the plants.
Then, after year five, Iola would have the option to buy the plant at $4.5 million.
