Olivia P. Tucker
Times Reporter
Austin may soon see solar panels helping to save cost on electrical expense for the city’s sewer plant.
The solar panels are to be installed south of the sewer plant on the ground that is visible from Interstate 65 North.
Austin Clerk-Treasurer Chris Fugate said that the process for putting the solar panels in started around three years ago when the city received an email from a group install the panels as a way for the city to go green. He said that the solar panels have the potential to offset the costs of the sewer plant’s electrical expenses.
The city chose PSG Energy Group to do the studies and analysis on the area where the panels are to be located said Fugate.
Early last month the Austin City Council amended an ordinance with a loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for 40-year payback rather than the 20 years in the original ordinance. However, the city could payoff the loan sooner than the allotted time.
Fugate said the interest rate for the loan from the USDA is estimated between 2.99 – 3.1% and the project couldn’t be done without that lower rate.
“If you’re telling me we can save $1 million over a 5-year period, that’s huge,” said Fugate with the city saving $200,000 a year on the electric bill expenses of the sewer plant. He said that this would also be a huge win for the city of Austin in terms of financial savings.