Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Palouse solar panel project took another step last week when the city council authorized Mayor Michael Echanove to apply for financing of up to $140,000.
At the council meeting June 14, Clerk/Treasurer Mike Bagott reported he has researched options and noted the state treasurer's LOCAL (Local Option Capital Asset Lending) program offers the best terms.
The loan would be paired with a $277,000 grant secured by Apollo Solutions of Spokane from the Washington Department of Enterprise Services.
Apollo has guaranteed that if Palouse does not earn a return on their investment, they will pay the difference.
“Maybe a year,” Echanove said of when that will be determined. “We just haven't talked about that. This is a long-term project.”
The expected $133,000 loan from LOCAL would be made in monthly payments over the course of 15 years.
Once the loan is paid off, the $8,000 payments, representing what Palouse now pays Avista for water pump No. 3, would stay in the town's general fund.
“That's the theory,” Echanove said.
In the event of a rate increase over those years, the result would further benefit the town, Echanove noted.
“We're saving that much more,” he said.
Palouse will now apply for the loan, which is expected to be approved.
“I'm more in debt than the City of Palouse,” Echanove said. “The City of Palouse is $40,000 in debt. The chances of getting a $140,000 loan are pretty good.”
The city used a LOCAL loan in the 2000s for a sludge press mechanism at the wastewater treatment plant.
Installation of a small field of solar panels to supply power to pump No. 3 will be this fall, after the $277,000 grant was awarded earlier this year.
The solar farm will be composed of 2.5x5-foot non-tracking panels.
Apollo Solutions will act as the contractor on the project, with subcontractor Pennell Renewables, also of Spokane. They are expected to spend six weeks on the installation.
The well and pump in question, No. 3, was installed in the early 2000s after fears arose from the flood of 1996, which threatened the town's well No. 1 in downtown Palouse. Well No. 2 is no longer in use.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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