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Lebanon electric director describes $10 million substation move, 10 MW solar array and new gas generators
Summary
Director of Electric Sean Coffey told residents the city is relocating a flood‑prone substation, bringing a 10-megawatt solar array online, and pursuing behind‑the‑meter gas generation to manage peak costs and increase local resiliency.
Sean Coffey, director of electric for the City of Lebanon, described three major utility projects under construction or planning: relocation of a flood‑prone substation, a three‑site solar array tied to city distribution, and natural‑gas peaking generators placed at substations.
Substation relocation: Coffey said the city’s original substation on Vlosser Road sits in a flood plain and has flooded repeatedly over his 24-year tenure. To reduce risk and increase capacity the city purchased property near the railroad on Gloucester Road and is constructing a new substation. Coffey described the project as a roughly $10,000,000 effort that will double the substation’s capacity and provide a second interconnection point to the outside grid. He said completion timing depends in part on Duke Energy relocations.
Solar array: Coffey said the city has placed a 10‑megawatt solar array across three sites tied directly into Lebanon’s distribution system. He said the array supplies about 3% of the city’s annual energy needs and that staff expect the installation to reduce costs—Coffey told the meeting the array is “expected to save about $27,000,000 over the life of the assets.” He said an expected $4,000,000 grant would offset part of the project cost.
Gas peaking generation: To address increasingly high transmission and peak charges, Coffey described plans to install natural‑gas generators (behind‑the‑meter) at two substations in the south industrial area. He said the arrangement, coordinated through American Municipal Power, will reduce peak costs and the project cost will be amortized over time through expected operational savings.
AMI (metering) and reliability comments: Coffey and other staff answered questions about the city’s meter-replacement program; they said electric meters will be changed in roughly 20–30 seconds per residence, the solar array is currently online and producing, and behind‑the‑meter generation can be run in contingency situations.
Ending: Coffey said the changes aim to improve resiliency and long‑term affordability for electric customers while noting the projects require coordination with other utilities and partners.
