Should Jasper County buildings transition to solar?

Upon reviewing the utility bills of six Jasper County properties, officials from the solar energy contractor 1 Source Solar, LLC told the board of supervisors Tuesday it could save a substantial amount of money per year by transitioning to the renewable energy source.

Although the Jasper County Board of Supervisors did not vote for or approve of any energy transition during its weekly meeting, they were, in fact, interested in the prospects of solar energy and discussed the topic in great detail with the three representatives from 1 Source Solar: co-founder and president Todd Miller, sales manager Angie Berhow and renewable energy consultant Dylan Holdsworth.

The Ankeny-based solar energy contractor offers renewable energy systems for commercial, agricultural and residential use, as well as free site analysis, design, engineering, construction and management services for various solar projects.

“I think our objectives today, at least on my part, is to review the layouts, see if there (are) any options or issues with what you see there and then kind of review different financing options of what we might have,” Miller said.

The six properties 1 Source Solar included in its proposal were the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, the Annex Building, Jasper County Community Center, Koppin Building, Engineering Office and the Jasper County Armory. Miller said the courthouse was left out of the conversation because the structure has no room for panels.

Documents provided to the board weighed out the estimated monthly bills of each building powered with solar energy and without solar energy.

According to the 1 Source Solar documents provided to the board of supervisors, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office’s monthly utility bills would likely decrease from $6,363 to $3,453 by transitioning to solar power. Likewise, 1 Source Solar estimated the Annex Building’s utility bill would decrease from $1,483 to $845 a month; the Community Center from $1,371 to $461 a month; the Koppin Building from $331 to $87 a month; the Engineering Office from $334 to $82 a month; and the Jasper County Armory from $667 to $127 a month.

In 25 years, 1 Source Solar documents estimated the six county properties could save money after system purchase, financing and operating costs. Assuming the utility rate increases by 3.5 percent per year, the property with the lowest amount saved was the Koppin Building at $73,514. The highest estimate was the sheriff’s office at $714,075.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Cupples pointed out the proposed solar panel system for the sheriff’s office, listed in the documents, is estimated at $596,000, meaning it could take more than a decade or so to see a return on investment on that particular building. Furthermore, the total estimated cost to install the solar power system for all six county-owned buildings is $984,700.

Berhow said, “That’s where we’re trying to see how we want to finance this.”

Finding the funds

Unable to use 1 Source Solar’s 30 percent federal tax credits and 15 percent state tax credits capped at $20,000 per site, Miller said an outright purchase of the solar power system would likely take 15 years for a return.

However, a power purchase agreement (PPA), in which a “developer arranges the design, permitting, financing and installation of a solar energy system on a customer’s property at little to no cost,” could be another option for Jasper County.

The PPA route would require the developer — which could also be 1 Source Solar — to sell the power generated from the solar power system to the county at a lower rate than the local retail price for utilities.

The developer, in this case, would receive the income from the sales of electricity and any tax credits generated from the system but is also in charge of operating risk, performance and maintenance for the duration of the lease or agreement, which typically ranges from 10 to 25 years.

At the end of the PPA term, the county would have the option to extend the contract, remove the solar power system or purchase the entire system from the initial developer. Cupples asked Miller what would happen in the event 1 Source Solar decides to withdraw from business operations completely.

"That's a fair question," Miller said. "We're unique in that we have other sources of income besides just solar… And the fact that we have investments like this, these power purchase agreements. We'll be doing some in South Carolina here over the winter. We own those so we're going to have to be in the solar business for 25 years … We can't go anywhere."

Cupples told the Newton Daily News Wednesday he, personally, would like to see the county transition to solar power systems if it made sense financially and is truly a savings in the long haul for taxpayers.

“It’s definitely prudent for us to take a look at something that could lower our electric bills by potentially up to 78 percent,” Cupples said. “But also it may only be a 20 or 25 percent savings if we use the financing option. Still, that’s pretty significant when you’re considering how much money we spend a year on electrical.”

Regardless of the benefits, the two biggest barriers the county faces in a possible transition to solar, Cupples added, is finding space to fit enough solar panels — either on the roof or ground mounted — and financing the project altogether. But that is only if the county decides to move forward.

“That’s a big ‘if,’” Cupples said.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com