Solar farm decision may be next year

SCHUYLER COUNTY--As the solar energy movement in Schuyler County and the surrounding area continues to grow, county officials may be looking at bringing a solar farm to the area. While talks are still in the concept stage, County Administrator Tim O'Hearn said further discussion and research could lead to a decision on the possible project sometime in the coming year.
"The former Irelandville landfill site has been discussed as a possible location for a Community Shared Distributed Generation concept (solar farm)," O'Hearn said. "Community farms offer an opportunity for people who rent or do not have suitable locations for solar to participate in energy savings through solar development. Typically there is a municipal partner as an anchor, which could possibly be a role for the county or other municipalities. Participants in effect build their solar electric system as a part of this farm and it is net metered and credited to their monthly electric bill."
O'Hearn noted while there may be other iterations of this solar farm concept, the one he is most familiar with involves a private developer who invests in and builds the solar farm at their expense utilizing state and federal tax credits and other incentives. He said the municipality then leases the solar panels and retains ownership of the land, yielding a typical energy savings average of about 10 percent. In the case of the former landfill site, the administrator said this represents a way to utilize otherwise unusable property and generate savings at no cost to the municipality. Additionally, this may produce savings for residential users as well.
When it comes to cost, the county is able to compare what their project might look like to similar projects other municipalities have conducted. O'Hearn said the town of Williamson completed a similar project in 2014 at a landfill site and installed nearly 5,000 panels at a cost of $3.4 million in private investment. He said they anticipate saving about $27,000 (12 percent) per year on their electric costs as a result.
"At this point in Schuyler, this is conceptual," O'Hearn said. "The availability of three phase power service to the site is a prerequisite and there may be other sites within the county that are suitable as well. I would expect further exploration and discussion could occur in the coming year and a decision made whether to pursue or not would occur sometime within this time frame."