Knost to Recommend Solar Energy Project

The Mehlville School District could add solar energy to for the 2012-2013 school year.

Superintendent Eric Knost is scheduled to recommend a solar energy project at Thursday’s school board meeting. The board meets at 7 p.m. in the  Library.

The project would involve installing 25-kilowatt solar panel systems on three of the district’s schools—Hagemann Elementary, Bernard Middle and Oakville High School.

“It’s been a goal of mine to find, as a return on investment opportunity, ways to go to cleaner energy, specifically solar energy… meaning something that saves us money,” Knost said.

The project includes leasing equipment with no out-of-pocket expenses to the district, the superintendent said.

The cost of the energy through a 20-year lease is fixed annually and the district would save as the traditional electric rates increase yearly.

The district put out request for proposals and four companies responded by the May 10 closing date.

At the May 11 board meeting, Knost said he saw one company that stood out from the others and included an educational component. They would also install and manage the equipment.

The company providing the lease could receive an Ameren rebate as well as tax credits.

With the passage of Missouri’s renewable energy standard, electric companies must meet required percentages through generating renewable energy or purchasing renewable energy credits.

“With the Ameren credits, we definitely have an immediate savings, so the lease costs less than the savings that we’ll be showing through the use of the solar panels.” Knost said.

Ameren offers a $50,000 rebate, but has a limit to how many it gives away.

Knost said time was running out and the incentives could disappear as early as June.

“If the credits aren’t there, it could be that our savings in the first year are very little,” Knost said. “But when you play this out over 20 years, and you consider Ameren’s rates to increase, most say 5 percent every year, you can calculate this out to the savings of approximately $40,000.”

Solar energy works by storing electricity for later use. The electric meter runs backward when panels are producing energy, and forward when energy is being used.