A Little ‘Green’ for Woodbury’s Boys in Blue

As Woodbury’s is seeing a major expansion of its facility, the city is considering adding solar panels to the building’s roof.

The City Council discussed going ahead with plans for the solar panels at its workshop meeting last week. The Public Safety Department is in the midst of an $8 million expansion project that will be completed this summer.

The city has considered entering into a non-binding letter of intent to work with Parsons Electric and tenKsolar to complete development plans for a 40-kolowatt solar-power system to be installed on the roof over the parking garage. 

Bob Long, a consultant who works with tenKsolar and Parsons Electric, said the city could take advantage of a rebate program from Xcel Energy that saves cities up to $5 per watt or 60 percent of the total project cost, whichever is greater.

The solar panels would also likely include 3M-made reflective panels on their underside, which adds 30 percent more energy, Long said.

The system would be expected to generate 15 percent of the building’s electricity, saving the city money on electricity costs. If the city decides to go ahead with the project, Parsons Electric would install the solar panels.

The preliminary analysis suggests the total cost to the city would be $54,500 for the system, payable in $5,400 installments over five years, plus a $27,500 payment in the fifth year, according to a council memo. The payments are structured that way because the system would be leased to Parsons Electric for five years to qualify for a federal solar energy tax credit and to correspond with the payments of the Xcel Energy rebates.

The “payback” on this project would be approximately 10 years, according to city documents.