PAXTON — A developer of solar farms in Illinois and several other states encouraged the Paxton City Council on Tuesday, July 8, to enter into a community solar agreement that would provide a 20% discount on the city’s municipal electric bills for the next 20 years.
“Our mindset is the deal’s the best in the state,” said Nathan
McCarthy of Solar On Earth, a firm headquartered in Acton, Mass., with its Midwest office in Chadwick in Carroll County. “If someone really doesn’t want 20%, we could easily find someone else to kind of take it.”
McCarthy said his firm has been working with the Microsoft Corp. to build solar farms in an area spanning from Maryland to Colorado, “with a lot of them being in Illinois.” That includes two smaller ones — each fewer than 50 acres in size — that will be interconnected to the grid in Ameren Illinois’ service territory, which includes Paxton, McCarthy said.
With development ongoing, McCarthy said he has been working to secure agreements with “close to 50” municipalities, school districts and hospitals in Illinois to allow for their enrollment into a community solar program under Illinois Shines, a program governed by the Illinois Power Agency. The program allows electric customers within the same utility service territory as a solar farm to sign up to receive credits to offset both supply and delivery charges on their utility bills. In this case, McCarthy did not say where the solar farm would be built.
Through the program, the city would receive credits totaling 20% of its municipal electric bills, which currently average about $214,000 annually, McCarthy said, but could rise to “closer to around $230,000 or $240,000 by this time next year.”
That would mean an expected annual savings of some $40,000. The credits would be applied directly to all 20 or so of the city’s Ameren Illinois power bills — for its water and wastewater treatment plants, City Hall, tool shed and police department building, and parks — but not to any residents’ or business’ bills, McCarthy said.
The city would continue to receive the credits if it were to change its electric supplier, McCarthy noted.
“This wouldn’t interfere with anything if the city decides to change their supply contract in the future or whatever — they could work with Homefield (Energy); they could work with Constellation,” McCarthy noted.
The 20% discount would be applied to “the total dollar spent” on electricity each month by the city, McCarthy said, noting the discount would be fixed at 20% for 20 years regardless of whether the total spent rises or falls as supply and delivery rates change. McCarthy proposed a 20-year agreement that would include an initial 10- year term with two five-year extensions. The agreement could be terminated by the city at any point — and with no fee — with 180 days’ advance notice, McCarthy said.
McCarthy called it a great deal for the city — better than most.
“The market discount right now for community solar on Ameren (bills) is actually 10%, so we’re offering pretty much double what the standard discount would be,” McCarthy said. “Typically, the discount would be saving the city closer to $20,000 a year; whereas this is $40,000.”
Mayor Bill Ingold said he invited McCarthy to speak to the council to see if there would be any interest in the proposal. Ingold said he would invite McCarthy to a committee meeting to “go more in depth” and answer aldermen’s questions if they would like to learn more. In the meantime, Ingold said that City Attorney Tony Schuering would be in contact with officials from other towns that are already working with Solar On Earth.
Aldermen Kristen Larson and Rob Pacey were absent.
The council’s next regularly scheduled monthly meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, at City Hall, 145 S. Market St.
The meeting is open to the public.