Install at municipal complex a public/private partnership; will lock in power rates for 25 years
By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com
The new solar panels — built over existing parking — at the East Marlborough municipal complex are up and running after being formally dedicated Monday night.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — It’s official: the township is engaged in an out-and-out power grab.
Before you panic, the only victims might be the sun and maybe PECO as the township formally unveiled its new solar array, built over the parking lot of the municipal building, Monday night. The new array should collect at least half of the municipal building’s power needs, with the energy cost locked in for the next 25 years, no small savings with deregulation expected to spike power rates in coming years.
“The energy is provided at a guaranteed rate that will not increase for the next 25 years,” township Board of Supervisors chair Cuyler Walker said. “At no cost to the township, we think that’s a pretty good deal.”
The panels were built by township-based Tangent Energy Solutions, which also put together the financing for the project and stands to profit from it, while the township needed to make no investment and will have zero maintenance costs during the 25-year agreement. The new array is limited to about to pulling in half of the municipal complex’s needs (roughly 24,000 kilowatt hours — KWh), largely because the area is on a residential PECO power trunk (should the township upgrade to dedicated, commercial-style service, the arrays could be expanded to collect virtually all of the township’s power needs).
East Marlborough Board of Supervisors Chair Cuyler Walker talks about the details of the township's new solar energy system as Dean Musser (left), CEO of Tengent Energy Solutions, which built and will operate the system, looks on.
And of course, the installation offers environmental benefits. The power generated by the means just under 37,000 pounds of CO2 will not be generated — roughly equivalent, company officials say, to recycling six tons of material instead of sending it to the landfill, each year the system is in operation.
Still, even with the structural limits, the township stands to lock in savings over the term of the deal, essentially putting speed bumps on likely PECO rate hikes over the next two-plus decades.
Although this is the first such installation in the Unionville area, company officials say they hope it will lead to others — and maybe some larger projects, both to increase green power generation and potentially save money for taxpayers.
“Even though this is a small project, it sets a great example for schools, businesses and other municipalities on the use of clean, on-site generation to improve their overall energy situation” said Dean Musser, CEO of Tangent Energy Solutions — and a township resident. “As corporate and individual residents of the township, we’re all proud of leadership demonstrated by our local officials.”
In addition to the solar arrays — which have been reportedly mistaken for a new carport by some township residents — the entire system can be monitored from a touchscreen display in the lobby of the municipal building. In addition to allowing residents to get a good sense of how well the system is working, it also allows township employees a chance to see in real-time how much power is being used, something likely to make the staff more conscious of use, Township Manager Jane Laslo noted.
An interactive touch panel in the lobby of the township's municipal building can tell residents — and staff — the whole story about how much power is being generated and how much is being used at a given moment.
Tangent, based in the township, put together a financing and grant package to pay for the design and construction of the panels and will then resell the power from it to the township at the same rate charged today by PECO. Tangent’s profit comes from the differential from operating costs and the current power rate and the resale of Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) — a specific credit for solar generation sold to power companies on the basis of 1,000 KWh. The commonwealth requires power companies to generate a specific amount of power annually — either by generation or by purchasing SRECs.
Musser said the panels will work in virtually all weather conditions — and even most snowfall won’t be an issue as the panels tend to keep a bit warmer than the ambient air temperature. Tangent will perform regular cleaning and maintenance work on the panels to keep them in peak operating condition.
And while the township is getting its “green” on, township officials spent time Monday night refining an ordinance that would provide for installation of solar panels and some wind generation devices on residential properties — although the latter will likely be limited to parcels of 25 acres or larger. The ordinance is coming up for public hearing on Nov. 7.
You’re deranged. Not even worth answering.
I feel sorry for you.
Good Luck with your journalism career
seems to be absolutely on fire.
Thanks for your input. And it’s clear to see you miss the point of what I was saying.
But it does remind me of a story:
Back in the early 1980s when I was just a cub newspaper reporter, I worked for a great newspaper editor. Under his tutelage the paper and many reporters (including me) won numerous awards for journalism. I remember one day when he was on the phone with one of those “the sky is green readers.” Finally, exasperated, he said “Madam, I’m going to connect you to our circulation department and I need you to cancel your subscription. I’m afraid you’re just too stupid to read our newspaper and might injure yourself in the process. Have a lovely day.”
I guess it depends on how much they give in political campaign contributions such as Solyndra did. And , how is asking how much the panels cost going “out of the way”? It seems that it would be a basic question to address.I would check my neighbors for panels, however I realize they are already paying the highest property taxes in the county, so I doubt they can throw away another 20-30 grand on useless technology as well.
Very sloppy reporting Mike. Unionville residents still don’t know the
cost.
Very Interesting.
PS- Reader of Times-30% of government funding means more expansion of the money supply, since we are already running 1 trillion plus a year in budget deficits.
So you need to understand that money creation leads to
higher prices for everyone in the long run. Maybe someone can explain this to you, to help you understand.
Okay fine. I’ll ask that question when you A: reveal your true name and home address and B: your gross adjusted income for 2010 (and how much taxes you paid). By your standard, that’s not really going out of the way. And because of my sloppy reporting skills I already know the answer to A, but choose to protect your privacy, as I think is appropriate with Tangent.
Jake….Tangent is a private company — the cost is proprietary information. Do private oil companies (which by the way, also get government subsidies for upgrading equipment to more efficient units) go out of it’s way to discuss the cost of the their projects?
Currently, every solar installation gets approximately 30% funding from the government….every business, home owner, municipality. This is not a manufacturing grant (such as Solyndra) but an installation grant. Check your neighbors for the panels…They all got the same government grant.
Mike,
Curious to know how Tangent secured those grants and financing.
(Not the government….nahhhh)
Guess you haven’t followed the Solyndra story.
That was a great example of capitalism in America.(sarcasm off)
Still waiting for the cost Mike.
Interesting you left that out of your article.
Hey ,Mike
How much did this crap cost??
Who’s paying for it??
Let me guess us!!!!
Jake,
The panels are being paid for with grants and financing secured by Tangent. The township has no out of pocket expense. If it turns out to be profitable, Tangent makes money. If not, they lose money. Good old capitalism.