Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Company proposes grid‑monitoring sensors on county land in exchange for $500‑a‑year easements
Loading...
Summary
Wood Mackenzie asked Crook County permission to place up to 10 small solar‑powered grid sensors on county property, offering $500 per device per year in easement payments and providing technical maps and device drawings on request; commissioners asked for site plans, references and additional information before deciding.
Andrew Adams, a representative of energy‑data firm Wood Mackenzie, told the Crook County Board of Commissioners on April 22 that his company wants to install up to 10 small, solar‑powered sensors on county property to monitor electrical‑grid conditions.
"We're a third‑party energy data company," Adams said, and the devices are mounted on a 2‑inch post with a 10‑watt solar panel. He said the sensors require little maintenance and that the company would pay $500 per sensor per year in easement fees — $5,000 annually if all 10 are installed. Adams also said the firm could place nine sensors on private parcels and use one site on county property if the board was amenable.
The request prompted technical and procedural questions from commissioners. Staff and commissioners asked Wood Mackenzie to provide drawings, photographs and KMZ map files showing proposed locations and the device attachment details; they also requested references from other landowners and utilities that host the sensors.
Adams said the data are used by market participants and federal regulators to increase transparency in power markets and to help identify congestion and outage patterns. He offered to resend the materials that the company said it had previously submitted, and to provide a KMZ file so staff could evaluate placement without revealing exact private locations.
County officials did not act on the proposal at the meeting. The board asked for the device drawings, a list of reference sites and clearer maps of the proposed locations before placing the item on a future consent or action agenda.
