Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The City of Palouse authorized Apollo Solutions of Kennewick Feb. 27 to apply for funding for a project to add another row of panels at its solar farm built in 2016.
Representatives from Apollo will now apply for a $75,000 grant from the Washington Department of Enterprise Services for the estimated $150,000 project, which would add 25 kilowatts per given second of power generating capacity for Palouse. The “given second” term refers to under optimal conditions.
The other half of the cost would be covered by an eligible $50,000 rebate from Avista and the rest from the city.
“It’s a very cost-effective thing to do,” said Michael Echanove, Palouse mayor.
Echanove said the additional power may be used for the town’s well No. 1 or perhaps another of the city’s 12 metered sites.
The energy created by the solar panels goes into “banked hours.” The city is able to choose where to apply the kilowatts.
The added row of panels would be a second addition to the solar farm after its original construction which was paid for by a $277,000 grant from the Washington Department of Enterprise Services and a $130,000 state LOCAL (Local Option Capital Asset Lending) loan taken out by the city.
When the project came in $40,000 under budget, more panels were added in 2017, increasing the farm’s production capacity from 68 kw to 75 kw at any given time.
The proposed next addition would put its capacity at 100 kw.
Ultimately, the power generated at the site has made up for what the city used to pay in electric bills to power its well no. 3. Well no. 2 is no longer in use.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)