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…