Escanaba council approves rooftop array, greenlights engineering for 1.4 MW solar farm

Escanaba City Council on Oct. 16 approved two separate steps to expand local solar generation: a contract not to exceed $165,000 to install rooftop panels at the Electric Department and an up-to-$280,485 engineering contract to develop a 1.4-megawatt alternating-current (AC) Whitetail solar facility.

City officials said the rooftop array would be installed on the Electric Department warehouse and garage to offset the building’s energy use. The city’s presentation estimated the utility-scale equivalent of the rooftop system at about 90 kilowatts and suggested it could offset roughly one-third of the building’s usage when the sun is shining. Staff said the project qualified for a federal direct-pay incentive that would reduce the city’s net cost to about $96,000 after reimbursement. Peninsula Solar of Marquette submitted the low bid and the council approved awarding the contract, with staff saying the project could be under way in 2025 and completed by mid-2026.

The Whitetail project is a separate, larger ground-mounted facility proposed on city-owned property in the industrial park. The council approved contracting Power System Engineering (PSE) to perform pre- and post-bid engineering services, environmental due diligence and bid specification work to advance the 1.4 MW AC array. Staff said that, with available tax incentives and use of domestic products, the levelized cost could fall to about $31 per megawatt-hour — well below current market prices the city pays — and estimated lifetime savings of roughly $6.25 million under modest power-price projections. The proposal calls for single-axis tracking to increase generation during evening peaks and is sized slightly larger than the city’s existing airport facility array.

City staff emphasized that receiving the federal direct-pay incentive required incurring at least 5% of the project cost in the same calendar year; Peninsula Solar and the engineering consultant indicated they believe that threshold can be met by purchasing engineering services and racking this year. Staff also said incentives are reimbursement-based and that the city would need to pay upfront and seek the reimbursement later. An accounting firm contracted by the state will assist municipalities and nonprofits with incentive paperwork, staff said.

Council members pressed on timeline, roof life and contingency. Staff said the Electric Department warehouse roof is sheet metal and will undergo a structural review by the solar contractor’s engineer; the office roof is membrane and would require ballast-mounted arrays. Staff also said placing panels on the warehouse could delay an office roof repair by three to five years.

During debate, staff noted a 12–13 year payback if the city did not receive the incentive and said the panels are expected to last about 25 years or longer. Councilors approved both actions by roll call.

The rooftop solar award passed on a unanimous roll call vote. The PSE engineering contract for the Whitetail 1.4 MW facility was approved on a subsequent unanimous roll call vote. Staff said the Whitetail engineering contract is split into pre-RFP and post-RFP phases; the pre-engineering phase (environmental and bid specs) was estimated at $134,225 within the $280,485 not-to-exceed total.

If both projects proceed as presented, the city expects to capture federal incentives and renewable energy credits (RECs) and to expand municipal solar capacity beyond the existing airport array. Staff said future consideration could include offering community subscriptions or making output data public.

Councilors and staff identified next steps: execute the rooftop contract, begin engineering and due diligence for Whitetail, and ensure procurement and documentation meet federal direct-pay rules to secure incentives.