Batavia OKs solar panel system for public works garage

The Batavia public works department wants to set a shining example on using alternative energy to run its garage by installing a 25-kilowatt solar electrical panel in its roof.

The city council approved the purchase Monday night in an 11-2 vote. Aldermen Lisa Clark and Garran Sparks voted against the measure. Clark said she did not think it was an appropriate expenditure “when the city is already pinching pennies,” and Sparks did not like it being added to the budget in midyear.

The project is expected to cost $179,295, which includes a 10 percent overage contingency. The city has received a $90,779 federal grant to help pay for it.

Director Gary Holm acknowledged the payback on the investment in terms of savings on electrical bills will take a long time — up to 30 years. But he sees value in the city being a leader, by example, in finding ways to reduce consumption of carbon-based energy. It will be able to show the installation to other residents of the east side industrial park on Raddant Road.

The panel is expected to enable the building to go off the electrical grid in pleasant sunny weather, and supplement its electrical supply on peak load days during hot weather.

New Edison Energy of Batavia was chosen to install the system. The panels are made in Rockford and in Michigan. The project would have cost less if the city used foreign-made panels. But since it using federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money to pay for about half, it is required to use U.S.-made components.

The council also approved replacing overhead lights in the garage, replacing energy-sucking high-intensity discharge lights with fluorescent lights that will use less energy and provide more light.