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Board weighs $325,000 commercial power quote for Snowball site against solar-hybrid alternatives
Summary
Board discussed a roughly $321,000–$325,000 commercial power quote to bring grid power to the Snowball site and debated engineering a solar-plus-battery solution, smaller wind options and revenue from potential ISP leases.
The board revisited long-running planning for the Snowball site after a staff report that Kenny (not present) had provided a rough commercial power cost estimate in the low $320,000s. The Chair said the quote prompted reconsideration of alternatives: engineering the site as a solar-plus-battery installation, using ZPM-style integrated systems to manage solar, batteries and generators, or installing smaller wind or hybrid systems.
Board members and staff discussed cost-versus-benefit, potential for leasing tower space to ISPs to offset costs, and the need for more precise engineering work and a propagation map. Peyton outlined rough solar sizing: a 5–10 kW array could be required for cooling and transmitters, roughly 20–25 panels per kW in the local sizing discussion, and battery sizing would be significant. The Chair asked staff to model a solar engineering option with cost scenarios and to survey local residents to estimate likely usage before committing to bringing commercial power.
