Tilton trustees advance $638,000 municipal solar plan to project-development stage; net cost estimated at about $90,005

Consultants representing a solar vendor presented a multi-site plan to install solar at four municipal locations — city hall, the community center, public works and the wastewater treatment plant — and asked the board to approve a project-development agreement (PDA) to complete structural and utility interconnection studies.

"So if we added all these systems, it's about, from from a to make this picture short and try to conserve time here, we're we're looking at at about 85% of these system cost paid for by current and set veil incentives. So with if we added all these systems, it's about a $638,000 project. Net cost after incentives come back is $90,004.97," the solar presenter (S8) said, summarizing the cost estimate and the incentives that drive the net price. The consultants explained that federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act and state renewable-energy credits are the primary drivers of the net cost, and they recommended completing the PDA to confirm Ameren interconnection capacity and structural feasibility for rooftop options.

Trustees discussed ground-mount versus rooftop siting, the potential need to remove some trees at the wastewater plant to increase ground capacity, and the programmatic requirement that a portion of materials be produced outside specified 'entity-of-concern' countries to secure the full tax credit. After back-and-forth on sizing and site choices, a trustee moved to enter the project-development stage; the motion passed on roll call. Staff will return with final PDA costs, structural reports and the Ameren interconnection results before the board considers contract execution.