By Cheryl Splain, KnoxPages.com Reporter
MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Commissioners gave the go ahead for two energy providers to conduct site visits to see whether solar panels are practical for five county buildings. The visits will take place mid-September to late October.
The commissioners had previously requested that Palmer Energy Co., working with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation’s solar initiative, evaluate five buildings for solar use:
*Opportunity Knox Employment Center, 17604 Coshocton Road
*Board of DD, 11700 Upper Gilchrist Road
*Knox County Jail, 11540 Upper Gilchrist Road
*Water/wastewater department, 17604 Coshocton Road
*Health department, 11660 Upper Gilchrist Road
Based on that initial evaluation, Palmer Energy projected an average savings of 11 percent in electric costs for the five buildings. The savings will come by reducing or eliminating electric generation charges.
Meeting with the commissioners on Monday, Bill Bradish of Palmer Energy said that Knox County was included in a Request for Proposal sent to about 55 companies inviting them to bid on the project. The other eight entities in the RFP are Ashtabula, Darke, Montgomery, Ottawa, Sandusky, Shelby and Wyandot counties and the Village of Delta. After reviewing the responses, Palmer Energy narrowed the list to two: Hull & Associates and Solscient Energy.
“They are both developers in Ohio; they didn’t have to be, but it’s nice,” said Bradish.
Following the site visits, Hull & Associates and Solscient Energy will submit a final offer. “Our goal is to have the proposals reviewed and documents and agreements signed by the end of the year, if it makes sense,” said Bradish. “That would get us into construction after the first of the year.”
Bradish said the plan is for all nine of the entities to be included in the final proposals, but Knox and Montgomery counties could stand on their own because of the size of the facilities. “The rest of them would need to be grouped together. Even if something broke down among the smaller facilities, you could still stand alone,” he told the commissioners.
Of the five buildings being considered for solar power, the jail is the heaviest electric user at 1.29 million kWh (kilowatt hours) a year. Annual usage for the other four buildings ranges from 13,000 kWh to 381,000 kWh. Monthly electric bills for the jail range between $8,000 and $10,000; summer electric bills can be as high as $12,000 to $13,000. If the 11 percent savings occur, jail electric bills would be lowered between $880 and $1,100 and $1,320 and $1,430, respectively.
“[Solar] doesn’t take long to pay for itself,” said Commissioner Thom Collier.
Bradish said that lower technology costs and renewal of federal tax credits for developers make solar an attractive option. There is no capital outlay to the county for the solar installation; the energy provider recovers its cost through the kWh rate. Kenyon College is also interested in exploring solar options.