CENTERBURG — Solar panels at Centerburg middle and high school are staying after the district’s board of education agreed to a modified contract at Monday’s meeting, saving the district approximately $66,000 in the process.
The district doesn’t own the panels, rather it pays for the power generated by them. The owner of the district’s panels is Solar Planet.
The modified contract comes in wake of a roof electrical fire at Centerburg Elementary during the high school’s graduation. The panels have been removed from the elementary building and won’t be replaced, Superintendent Ryan Gallwitz said.
However, the panels at the middle school and high school building will remain. The panels aren’t identical from building to building; the panels at the high school and middle school are sectioned off from the school instead of on the roof.
The district did a walkthrough of the middle school and high school panels and “didn’t see the similar issues” that were on the roof, Gallwitz said. For example, the wires on the high school panels aren’t exposed to direct sunlight compared to the elementary ones.
For additional safety measures, Solar Panels and the school district have agreed on hiring a third-party certified electrician to inspect the panels as needed, Gallwitz said, with Solar Planet paying for the electrician.
After the fire, the school board was able to negotiate a lower price in connection with the energy consortium.
When the panels were first installed, the district had an agreement with Solar Planet with a “escalator” price increase structure throughout its 25-year contract. Now the price has been reduced by 65%, Gallwitz said.
Any price increase would be based on the consortium, Gallwitz said, and the current consortium price is locked until 2025, then would be renegotiated.
“If we eliminate solar altogether, there’s a chance that because we’ve had solar for so long, the consortium price may not apply to the new burden that we would put on the power grid,” Gallwitz said.
He added the district wasn’t stuck with the panels, but it became a better deal to keep them.
Solar Planet will also donate $1,000 to the district’s discretionary spending fund for every year of the purchase agreement, Gallwitz said.
The panels offer educational opportunities, Gallwitz said, with one high school class studying different types of power sources.