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Council seeks clarity on local benefit from solar garden; staff outlines lease and subscription terms
Summary
A councilor asked how much energy the city’s solar garden has generated for local use; staff clarified that the project feeds Xcel’s grid, the city receives lease revenue, and the facility is a 3-megawatt installation on about 24.3 acres under a 25-year lease.
Councilors asked staff how the city benefits from the industrial-park solar garden and whether generated electricity flows directly to city facilities.
Staff explained the solar facility feeds the local utility’s grid and that the city receives lease revenue for the land rather than direct retained generation. During the meeting a staff member described the site as a roughly 3-megawatt facility on about 24.3 acres, noting the city’s lease revenue is paid on an acreage basis and that the city pays Xcel for electricity usage under the usual billing arrangement. Staff said the lease runs roughly 25 years with periodic escalators in lease payments.
Council members asked whether the city received any special billed rate for locally produced solar energy; staff answered that the arrangement is lease revenue rather than below-market electricity for the city. Councilors requested that staff provide annual generation and revenue figures in a later report so the public can see how much energy the solar garden has produced since operations began.
