County wants more information on solar and geothermal for jail and county building
BRANCH COUNTY — The county commission heard a plan Thursday to reduce future utility bills for the Branch County Jail by installing solar panels on land where the county will demolish the old jail.
Dr. Jeff Studebaker of Veregy Corporation also proposed installing a geothermal heating and cooling system in the adjacent health agency/county office building.
Both would take advantage of $825,000 federal Inflation Reduction Act 30% rebates.
Studebaker said that the $3.25 million project would provide $45,000 in utility savings.
The commissioners were not ready to authorize the company to move forward and want to further review the project at the May 23 work meeting.
Commission Alan McClelland questioned if the county would save on energy costs. For the county to benefit, the department budgets of those who received savings would need to be reduced.
Chairman Tim Stoll wanted to review the numbers and other considerations on the operations of a 25-year project.
County administrator Bud Norman would reallocate some of the $1.75 million in the general fund balance received from the American Rescue Plan Act for revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic for the project.
Payback or return on the investment from the project would take 17 years.
The geothermal heating and cooling of the adjacent county building was considered because the current system is 25 years old and requires increasing maintenance.
Norman said the 30% rebate for both projects made the proposals attractive.
The county will repave the parking lot at the health agency building. Under the IRA grant, 30% of the paving cost is covered if the geothermal wells to operate the heat exchange are installed under the paving.
Stoll asked Studebaker if there was a rush to move forward.
Studebaker said uncertainty about the fall federal elections and who will control the White House and both houses of Congress could impact the plan. “Obviously, getting the project completed and then turned on before anybody were to pull the trigger on IRA is important because you get that money back” if the IRA still exists.
Studebaker said the geothermal could be finished and turned on by Jan. 1, and the county would get the federal check for that portion in 2025.
Completion of the solar would take longer because of supply issues with the necessary equipment. If that did not go into operation until 2025, the county would not receive the IRA rebate check until 2026.
Studebaker asked the county to pay Veregy to drill a test well to get information for the geothermal project. The company would then write a request for proposal for bidding.
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The consultant said he wanted to ensure Veregy recovered that well cost if it did not receive the final contract.
— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: County wants more information on solar and geothermal for jail and county building
