With agreements in place for a solar power farm at the Strathroy’s sewage treatment plant and transfer station site, local council’s attention has turned to solar projects on the rooftops of municipal buildings.
Strathroy-Caradoc Council has authorized the negotiation of contracts to install and operate solar panels on the rooftops of up to 13 municipal buildings as another innovative revenue source demonstrating leadership in renewable energy. The Ontario Power Authority has approved projects for these buildings, and the municipality will now determine how many of the 13 sites will be feasible for use to produce solar power.
Council discussed two alternatives for the project, the first simply leasing at modest rates municipal rooftops to a firm which would install and operate solar panels, and the second to assume ownership of the project, paying for installation and operating costs but also receiving all the revenue created from the generation of power. It chose the second option.
It is expected that if all 13 building were used, installing the solar panels would cost roughly $600,000, which would be financed through a 10-year debenture. Power generation revenues would cover the annual loan payments and provide a small amount of annual income for the municipality. Once the loan is paid off, all revenue would go directly to the municipality. That could total as much as $85,644 a year. According to the approvals granted by the Ontario Power Authority, the projects must be connected to the provincial power grid by August 2013.
The 13 buildings eligible for rooftop projects are:
Meanwhile, 50 solar trackers will be constructed at the sewage treatment plant and transfer station site on Pike Road. They are due to be connected to the grid by July or August of this year, and will bring an estimated $50,000 a year in revenue to the municipality. Agreements for both the rooftop and the solar power farm projects will be 20 years in length.
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