Lebanon can continue expanding its collection of municipal solar arrays with help from legislation passed in the state Senate this summer.
This July, Lebanon City Management approved the next phase of City Solar, which launched in 2019 with the installation of solar arrays at seven city-owned sites, including the wastewater plant and water plant. Solar is measured by how much it produces at its peak output, known as the “DC rating,” and the panels installed in the initial rollout account for 770 kilowatts of power. This meets about 16% of the city’s total annual electric load.
SB 321, passed in the Statehouse in June, keeps the ball rolling. The bill permits cities to generate up to 2 megawatts of power and sell it to buyers within the boundaries of the municipality without incurring transmission and distribution costs. One of these pilot programs is allowed for each of the four electric utilities in the state.
With City Councilor Clifton Below, who also serves as assistant mayor, a key voice in the writing of the legislation, Lebanon is “hoping, and expecting, that we’ll be the place chosen to do this,” said Tad Montgomery, the city’s energy and facilities manager.
The list of around 20 sites for additional solar arrays in consideration by the city for the next round of expansion includes areas at the Lebanon Municipal Airport, the landfill, and the police station. Veterans Memorial Pool is also being considered.
“Now that Lebanon already installed solar panels in the places that made the most sense in the first place, I think recreation lands are good candidates for these smaller projects,” said Paul Coats, Lebanon’s director of recreation, arts and parks.
“If it benefits the project to get solar up and lower our city’s greenhouse gas emissions, then I’m glad some of the Parks and Rec land can be a part of that,” Coats said. “And generating electric here where there’s no shade just makes sense.”
Coats imagines a solar pedestal that’s “attractive and safe to be around,” and that pool attendees could use for shade in the summer.
Sunburned swimmers wouldn’t be the only ones benefiting from additional solar in Lebanon.
“When we look for local buyers for this energy, our first go-to would be organizations that taxpayers fund, in order to help local taxpayers reduce their costs,” Montgomery said.
The city has already had informal conversations with the Lebanon School District about supplying its energy.
“Of course we’re interested,” Tim Ball, business administrator for the Lebanon School District, said of purchasing energy from the city itself. “But we’d need to know the term and the rate. The devil’s really in the details here.”
For now, the school district receives fixed-price power from Liberty, which increased its energy prices by around 50% in August.
“We’re pleased with how cheap it’s been so far, but we aren’t pleased with the increase we’ll have to pay on our bills in September,” Ball said.
The energy distribution process could be managed through Lebanon Community Power — a community-owned energy model that would allow Lebanon residents an alternative to their default provider Liberty Utilities. While the project hasn’t been launched and exact pricing remains unclear, once off the ground, the Lebanon Community Power project is intended to provide a cheaper, more stable option to its users.
“We can give a better rate than Liberty can, because solar for the most part is cheaper than much of the power on the grid,” Montgomery said. “Especially these days.”
Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached 603-727-3242 or fmize@vnews.com.