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| Eco-builder & consultant, Alain Soutenet, from Sedona Green Solutions gave a presentation to the city council on solar power initiatives that could be implemented to power City Hall. |
Sedona considers solar power for City Hall
By Carl Jackson
SEDONA, AZ (June 24, 2009) - One of the City
of Sedona's stated strategic priorities is to become
a model community in terms of energy efficiency and
conservation of natural resources.
At the Sedona City Council meeting on June 23, 2009, Alain Soutenet, Eco-builder & consultant, Sedona Green Solutions LLC gave the city council a golden, or at least green, opportunity to set an example for the community on the use of renewable energy: operate City Hall and the Wastewater Plant partially using solar power.
Sedona Green Solutions is a consulting and construction company in Sedona, Arizona that specializes in renewable energy initiatives and sustainable developments.
The major obstacle to converting any building or project to a renewable energy source like solar is the upfront cost of installation as well as the cost of ongoing maintenance.
Currently, the city is eligible to apply for up to $300,000 in federal funds that could fully fund a renewable energy project.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, over $2.7 billion in formula grants are now available to U.S. states, territories, local governments, and Indian tribes under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, funded for the first time under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
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Mr. Soutenet gave a presentation to the city council that outlined the incentives & rebates available to those who install solar, the financing available, and the cost of installation.
The State of Arizona requires that utility companies produce 15% of their energy from renewable energy sources by 2025 and 30% of that standard needs to come from distributed renewable energy sources by 2012. Distributed renewable energy is electricity generated from residential and commercial solar systems. It's worthwhile to note that APS missed its 2008 target by 33,256 MWh.
As a result, the utility companies are offering incentives of as high as 50%-60% of projects costs to those who upgrade their buildings to solar power; and to finance solar projects, the City of Sedona could issue 0% interest rate Clean Renewable Energy Bonds. Instead of receiving interest, the bondholder would receive federal tax credits.
According to Mr. Soutenet, the electricity needed to power the Sedona City Hall complex is equivalent to 45 residential homes and costs $60,000 per year. A $300,000 federal grant to fund the installation of solar panels would provide 27% of City Hall's annual power usage and could save the city $14,375 per year in today's dollars.
The City of Sedona's Wastewater Treatment Plant uses enough electricity to power 150 residential homes at a cost of $183,244 per year. If the city were to borrow $2 million to upgrade the plant partially to solar power, it would save $50,000 per year in today's dollars.
Given the city's current budget constraints, if it was unable to obtain federal grant funds or did not want to borrow money, it could contract with a third party provider who would pay for the solar installation and be able to take advantage of various state and federal tax credits. The city would then agree to pay the third party lease payments or a fixed price for power that could save the city 10%-20% of its ongoing electricity costs.
It's time for Sedona to take a leadership role on renewable energy.
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