County officials are looking to go green and save some green with the installation of solar panels at the Kane County Animal Control facility.
A resolution authorizing Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen to ink a 20-year lease with WCP Solar, LLC for the project, which is expected to generate 99 percent of the electricity needs at the site, was approved Wednesday by members of the Public Health Committee.
The resolution now goes to the Finance and Budget Commission for discussion before going to the Kane County Board for a vote.
Animal Control pays approximately $7,000 per year for utilities at the Keslinger Road site in Geneva, according to county board minutes.
The cost of leasing the system over a 20-year period from the Naperville-based WCP Solar would cost $25,675, and include all permitting, design, installation, maintenance and monitoring, according to county documents. The projected energy savings over the 20-year contract term is $155,874.
Before the resolution was approved, Kane County board member Philip Lewis called it “a step in the right direction.”
“The opportunity presents itself in Kane County to get involved in solar,” he said. “This project gives our citizens the opportunity to recapture some federal tax dollars that have gone out of Kane County. I encourage the committee to advance it.”
Because the county is a non-profit entity, it is ineligible to take advantage of current federal and state government renewable energy incentives. However, WCP can take advantage of those incentives then relay the savings on to the county through a lower lease rate, according to documents.
The proposed lease agreement also includes a performance guarantee that the system will produce a minimum of 80 percent of the stated average yearly production or WCP will reimburse the county for the guaranteed energy not produced.
The county will have to install fencing around the solar array for improved safety and security, which is estimated to cost between $11,000 and $13,000. Officials said that funding would come out of Building Management’s capital improvement budget.
The project falls in line with Kane County’s 2040 Energy Plan and Sustainability Plan, officials said earlier this year.
The energy plan, adopted in 2011, calls for Kane County to be a leader in energy efficiency in the region and reduce energy consumption in county buildings by 10 to 25 percent. The Sustainability Plan, adopted in 2013, calls for energy audits of county buildings, energy consumption data and supports the idea of building retrofits.
Erin Sauder is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
