By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The city’s solar panels on the rooftop of the BGSU Ice Arena are being sold to the university for $1.
The solar array, which was installed by the city in 2004, is in need of updates and repairs – and BGSU has agreed to pay for those expenses.
“They are the ones taking the initiative and making repairs,” Bowling Green Director of Utilities Brian O’Connell said, suggesting that the city sell the solar array to BGSU.
“This still meets the intent of the original project,” of providing green energy on campus, O’Connell said.
The city’s Board of Public Utilities agreed and voted last week to sell the solar site to the university.
BGSU will continue to operate the solar facility and be responsible for future maintenance of the rooftop solar asset. The city will stop charging BGSU for power produced by the solar facility.
The city and BGSU entered an agreement in 2004 to allow the city to install solar panels on the roof of the BGSU Ice Arena. The city used “Green Energy Rider” funds collected through a voluntary electric rider to pay for the installation. BGSU also received a grant from the Ohio Department of Development to bring down the project costs.
The initial installation was planned for 20kW of solar generation but was increased to 31kW. In 2006, an additional 10kW was added to the project for a total of 41kW.
At that time, BGSU agreed to lease the Ice Arena roof for the project at no cost to the city. From 2004 to 2006, the city paid a total of $348,500 toward the solar generating facility installation.
To recover the cost of the project, BGSU agreed to pay the city for the power produced.
According to O’Connell, as the project has aged, an increasing number of the solar panels and pieces of equipment have become broken or otherwise disabled.
If the city remained owner of the solar facility, it would be responsible for making repairs to the system. But the city no longer collects the additional voluntary Green Energy Rider funds that originally were used to pay for the installation, O’Connell said.
BGSU is currently performing electrical improvements at the Ice Arena and requested a proposal from the contractor to make repairs to the solar facility. The contractor has offered a price of $32,800 to make repairs and modifications to the existing solar generating system that will allow it to be fully returned to service, O’Connell said.
Historically, the city has received about $6,000 annually from the solar energy sale to BGSU. If the city paid for the repairs, it would take about 5 1/2 years to recover this expense, he said.
BGSU requested that the city consider transferring ownership of the solar generating facility to BGSU for $1. The BGSU Student Green Fund would be used to purchase, repair, meter and reconfigure the rooftop solar generating facility asset so that the energy generated will be placed on the power grid and fully utilized by BGSU.
BGSU has agreed to own and maintain the solar facility for the life of the project which is estimated not to exceed 30 years from the date of installation.
