Samantha Sheedy, Aiden Lichty, Representative Bob Latta, State Board of Education – Lynda Haycock, and Antwerp Tech director, Harold Gottke, turn on the power for this massive field array.
A big day at Antwerp High School took place on Friday, October 27 when area leaders and state officials descended on the site of the new solar system setup on the grounds of the school. Antwerp is providing the land for the use and the school will get the benefits of renewable power and a much less power bill.
Dr. Marty Miller opened the cold, windy and rainy afternoon with his humor and facts of the new field. After introducing the politicians and those involved in the construction of the project, details were discussed. There are 2328 solar panels covering the acre of land and the contract is for 25 years of locking the price in at $.075 per kilowatt. The only cost to the school was the attorneys that needed to review the contracts.
Tax credit for utilizing improvements from the government will stay the same price for the next 25 year. This is a 1.359 megawatt power supply that the school will be connected directly to and overages can be sold back to the power company at a reduced rate as long as it does not exceed a megawatt, meaning it would be regulated as a utility itself. The school is estimated to save about $60,000 every year in utility costs.
After the contract term runs out, the school will have the option to buy the solar field at a very low cost.
Linda Haycock, a state school board member, thanked for the work of Dr. Miller and the school board for leading the future of schools and technology in the state. She said it will directly benefit the school and students in tech, food and education. A kiosk will be put inside the school so everyone can see how much power is being generated and how much the facility is using. This plan is fiscally conservative and means a lot to see how responsibility of resources go hand in hand with education.
Congressman Bob Latta spoke of independence of big energy, foreign oil and keeping jobs here, calling it Homegrown Energy.
