City Council resumes discussion of community solar facility

The City of Whitefish is moving forward with plans to install a large solar panel array at the site of the new wastewater treatment plant on Monegan Road.

During a well-attended Whitefish City Council work session last week, councilors considered a plan for the city to work with Flathead Electric Cooperative (FEC) to install a 200-kilowatt community solar panel array on 1 acre of the city-owned property. After discussion, council directed city staff to pursue the plan and said the city should be interested in buying panels only after individuals had an opportunity to buy them.

While the city has wanted to pursue solar energy for years, the new idea was proposed in January 2022 to partner with FEC to construct a community solar project across 1 acre of land. The solar facility would help offset a portion of the energy consumption of the wastewater plant.

The installation of the solar panel array would take a couple months and the project could potentially be built next spring, according to the city.

Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman said that while the city is dedicating 1 acre of land for this project, all the upfront capital costs and maintenance are Flathead Electric’s responsibility. Workman said the city has set aside 4.5 acres of land near the wastewater plant to be used as a potential solar area.

“The land provided at the wastewater treatment plant will include a community solar project capable of generating about a third of the annual power requirement at the new wastewater treatment plant,” Whitefish Senior Project Engineer Karin Hilding explained.

Councilors Steve Qunell and Frank Sweeney asked for confirmation that the city would not see a cost involved with this project nor would Whitefish residents see a rise in their electricity rates — they were each reassured. An FEC representative said there would be “absolutely no impact” on residential bills.

“The city is not on the hook for the capital costs of the project,” Workman added. “This allows us to achieve the goals of the Climate Action Plan without a lot of risk from the capital expenditure.”

Officials from Flathead Electric Cooperative and several members of the Whitefish Climate Action Plan Committee were in attendance at the work session to answer questions and confirm details of the plan.

FEC will analyze whether fixed or tracking panels will work best and their goal is to keep the panel costs down. Panels will be available for purchase by individuals at an estimated price of $1,000 each. Purchasers of panels will receive an energy credit from FEC and there is a federal tax rebate available.

“The initial investment problem has been solved with Flathead Electric’s help and my main concern is that we do want to get this project installed because there’s a federal tax credit,” said Lydia Fahrenkrug, a Climate Action Plan Committee member. “Right now that’s 26% so that’s $260 per panel for a person that buys it. Next year it drops to 22% and then it goes to zero, so we really want to get this installed next year.”

The city does not qualify for that tax credit, should it purchase panels.

According to the staff report, FEC will coordinate a program with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program wherein The Bonneville Environmental Foundation would purchase several panels and donate them to offset the energy use of low-income residents.

Climate Action Plan Committee Chairman, Kate McMahon, called the project a “win-win situation” and other committee members voiced their support as well.

Hilding and Workman reiterated that the city has clean power already with FEC’s hydroelectric power and that this solar project serves to diversify the city’s energy to prepare for the future as the area continues to grow and its energy usage increases.

The original plan for a solar facility, from 2018, was for a 500-kilowatt solar farm. A feasibility study at the time predicted it would generate enough electricity to cover about 30% of the amount of power used by the wastewater plant and would cost the city about $880,000.

In August of 2021, the new wastewater treatment plant began operating and with the data from the new plant, FEC could compare the plant’s usage to the solar energy generated to get a better idea of the effect the panels could have. With the new data in hand, they found the originally proposed 500-kilowatt plant could actually produce 60 to 70% of the annual power usage of the plant.

Workman said they would finalize the agreement and send it to council for approval. FEC will discuss the proposal at its board meeting next month.