Rock Ridge board approves solar energy contract 6–1; consultant says application with state is pending

The Rock Ridge Public Schools board voted 6–1 to move forward with a district solar project after a presentation by Darren Dufresne of Ideal Energies.

Dufresne told the board that the company had submitted the final application to the Minnesota Department of Commerce on June 7 and recommended executing a guaranteed energy savings contract to proceed. He said the proposal for the district is a 348 kilowatt system and noted the district has $500,000 available toward the project.

“ We’re gonna save you guys money, not cost you money,” Dufresne said in the presentation, summarizing the pitch that projected utility savings over time would offset project costs.

A board member moved to adopt the presented resolution and the board proceeded to a roll-call style affirmation; the motion carried with six votes in favor and one opposed. The board’s action authorizes district staff to finalize the contract and return with any final documents needed for implementation and state approvals.

The proponents said they have experience with school installations and that the state funding and regulatory approvals are expected within weeks of the application. Dufresne told the board he has worked on dozens of K–12 projects and cited past approvals to show the timeline the district might expect.

Next steps: district staff will finalize contract documents, confirm Minnesota Department of Commerce approval and schedule implementation work that the vendor and district will coordinate to minimize interference with the opening of school buildings in August.