Anniversary observed of solar array installation at Public Safety Center


Observing the one-year anniversary of the start of solar installation ... Allamakee County officials and officers of the installing company, Perry Novak Electric of Decorah, gathered Friday, October 14 to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the installation process of the now fully-functional solar array at the Allamakee County Public Safety Center north of Waukon, where the new sign pictured above was added to further identify the array. Pictured above, left to right, are Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Larry Schellhammer, Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick, Perry Novak Electric Vice President John Nielsen, Allamakee County Board of Supervisors members Dan Byrnes and Mark Reiser, and Perry Novak Electric General Manager Brent Freilinger. Standard photo by Joe Moses.

by Joe Moses

In recognition of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the installation process of the solar array at the Allamakee County Public Safety Center, Vice President John Nielsen and General Manager Brent Freilinger, both of Perry Novak Electric of Decorah, visited the solar array site with Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick, Board of Supervisors Chairperson Larry Schellhammer and Supervisors Dan Byrnes and Mark Reiser Friday, October 14.

The solar array project was originally discussed at Supervisors meetings in March of 2021 with a power purchase agreement (PPA) - a contract between a government agency and an investor relating to an agreement to purchase energy over a long period of time to allow electricity cost savings - being approved at the April 19, 2021 Supervisors meeting.

The PPA allowed for the solar array, a collection of multiple panels generating electricity as a system viewable on the south side of the Public Safety Center grounds from Highway 9 north of Waukon, to be installed at that location through an agreement with investor White Solar LLC at no cost to Allamakee County.

Immediately following the October 14 site visit, Mellick, Nielsen and Freilinger provided an update to The Standard relating to the solar array project. As part of this update, the timeframe of the installation was discussed with foundational hardware first being put in place in late fall/early winter 2021 and Mellick and Nielson noting that solar panels were later in place for the Public Safety Center’s switch-over to solar mid-year in 2022.

In addition, the solar array also provides electricity to the Public Safety Center’s maintenance/storage buildings and the nearby Allamakee County Recycling facility. Nielsen advised that the projected lifespan of current solar panels is approximately 35 years, 25 years of which are under warranty, with the solar array estimated to produce 200,000 kilowatt-hours (kWH) yearly, providing close to 100 percent of the total electricity needed for these buildings.

Nielsen advised that a shift toward solar is taking place as an energy solution with other County buildings and Secondary Roads Department shops being possibilities in the future. Mellick and Nielsen noted that Alliant Energy stores excess energy produced by the solar array and that a generator is in place as a back-up. Mellick further discussed energy savings through the PPA, which he estimates at $8,000-$10,000 annually, with a more solid estimate to be made following the winter season and the one-year anniversary next year of the solar array going live as the Public Safety Center’s primary energy source.

Following the October 14 solar array site visit, The Standard reached out to the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors for comment on the solar array project and the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the installation process. In response, Schellhammer noted that the County has a contract with the investor for a seven-year term with that rate locked in for that period regardless of energy cost increases, with electricity costs being anticipated to continue to go up. Schellhammer advised that monthly electricity savings of $600-$800 are being seen as a result of the PPA and at that seven-year milestone, the County will have the option to purchase the solar array from the investor, with the cost of the array being more affordable at that point, with 100-percent electricity savings paying for the cost of the array over a number of years.

Schellhammer noted that the array at the Public Safety Center is being viewed as a demonstration for what solar can do for the County, which he added is a project that will be a money-saver for the County over the “long haul”. He advised that the solar array is a good project to gauge the positive impact of solar, with other County locations being potential options for further energy savings with solar.

Schellhammer noted the relationship with the investor as an opportunity for solar tax credits to be utilized with these tax credits unfortunately not being available to public entities like school districts and counties. He further advised that he has communicated with State legislators relating to changes that should be made to allow for these tax credits to also be available to public entities, the same as they are available to private businesses, to make solar more affordable to taxpayer-supported public entities including counties and school districts.