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Long Prairie‑Grey Eagle board narrowly approves moving forward with Solar for Schools application
Summary
After a 4–3 vote the board authorized staff to proceed with a full grant application and negotiate a purchase agreement with Ideal Energy for a ground‑mount solar array; funding from the Department of Commerce could be $476,805–$499,730 depending on whether fencing is eligible.
The Long Prairie‑Grey Eagle School District board voted 4–3 to allow staff to proceed with a full Solar for Schools grant application and to authorize negotiating a purchase agreement with Ideal Energy, a company presenting the proposal.
Ideal Energy representative Richard told the board the project has funds reserved through the Department of Commerce and estimated "you have funds reserved ... anywhere from $476,805 to $499,730 available for this project," depending on whether required perimeter fencing qualifies for tax‑credit treatment. Richard said the difference hinges on a technical tax‑credit issue: "fencing does not qualify for part of the tax credit ... the tax credit is 30% of the total cost of a system." He described two modeled scenarios—one in which the fence is covered and one in which it is not—and a roughly $2.7 million cumulative savings projection over the system’s life under either scenario.
Board members asked about up‑front financing, the timing of the investment tax credit and interconnection with Minnesota Power. Richard said the current round requires districts to spend funds up front and seek reimbursement under the direct‑pay tax credit; he told the board his team assumes an eight‑month drawdown and included an allowance for carry costs in the cash‑flow models. He said the company expects to complete interconnection permitting and design work and return to the board with final contract terms and a recommendation for final approval.
The board’s motion to proceed did not adopt project details; trustees approved the next step to complete the grant application and negotiate terms. The presenter advised the district that fencing could create a modest gap: in the most favorable scenario the district would be out of pocket about $9,825; in the worst case the board could face an upfront fencing cost of about $32,750 if fencing is excluded from grant/tax‑credit coverage.
Next steps: administration will complete the interconnection application with Minnesota Power, finalize the full grant application and bring a final purchase agreement to the board at a future meeting (presenter estimated a return date around mid‑June).
