MOUNT VERNON — Converting to solar will not be an option when the electric contract for the Knox County Jail expires next month.
“The solar project is not dead, but it’s not ready,” Bill Bradish of Palmer Energy Co. told the county commissioners on Tuesday.
The holdup is the uncertainty about tariffs on imported solar cells and modules.
The commissioners had planned to switch to solar in March 2017, but contract issues delayed the process. In the spring, two U.S. companies filed suit with the International Trade Commission alleging that dumps of solar panels into the United States threatened domestic production, so the solar initiative was put on hold. Last September, the ITC agreed with the companies’ petition; earlier this year, President Trump implemented tariffs on these products, resulting in market turmoil.
“We honestly don’t know where the tariffs will shake out. They are at one level now, but that could change,” said Bradish. “We can’t be sure we can show positive numbers for the facility.”
The jail’s current contract is with AEP Energy. All of the other county departments are with Dynegy; those contracts will expire in May 2020. Bradish recommended the county go with a two-year contract that will also expire in May 2020. He also thinks that the two-year time period is a good time frame to revisit the solar option.
Freepoint Energy Solutions submitted the lowest rate in response to Palmer Energy’s request for bids, followed by Dynegy and AEP Energy. Choosing Freepoint will result in an estimated annual savings of $9,815 compared to the current rate. The savings with Dynegy and AEP Energy are $8,009 and $6,126, respectively.
Bradish called the pricing “good numbers.”
Because the county has not previously used Freepoint as an energy provider, the county prosecutor’s office will review Freepoint’s contract before the commissioners decide on a provider.
