<em>By BOB GUSTIN, for The Democrat</em>
The Brown County Public Library is exploring the possibility of erecting an array of solar panels in the median of the library’s lower parking lot in an effort to take advantage of utility incentives and renewable energy technologies, and to cut electricity expenses by up to 98 percent.
Under current plans, if the library goes ahead with the carport-style project, no additional tax funds will be required, and the project is expected to pay for itself over a 15-year period. Financing would be realized by use of existing funds which have been saved over the years for improvement projects, by reduced utility bills and possibly grants, a fundraising campaign or a low-interest loan.
Plans call for the project to offset more than 90 percent of electricity bills through the solar panels, conversion of existing lighting to LED, and other measures.
The library’s board of directors voted April 19 to partner with PSG Energy Group to examine the feasibility of the project. No contracts have been signed.
Initial estimates put the cost of the project at about $600,000 to $750,000, depending on options chosen. Options could include installing chargers for electric cars, the LED retrofit, updating system controls, modifying the carport structure to provide covered parking beneath the panels, and annual operation and maintenance costs.
About 325 solar panels in the project are expected to produce up to 162,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
If the board enters into a guaranteed energy savings contract with PSG this summer, the project could be completed by the end of the year. PSG is a privately held company headquartered in Indianapolis. It was one of two firms which responded to the library’s request for qualifications late last year.
“The current library board has accepted the challenge of keeping our library the gem of Brown County it has always been,” said Tim Kelley, chairman of the board’s building committee. “This means not only honoring the forethinkers who gave us the magnificent facility, but taking the library forward for more generations to come. It also means looking forward to future impact on the community we serve.
“With that in mind, we are looking into making the library self-sufficient,” he said.
“This project would be a significant operational cost savings for the library and allow us to reduce our carbon footprint at the same time. It would be a win for the entire community,” said Stori Snyder, library director.
One factor driving the interest in solar is an upcoming change in Indiana’s law on net metering. This requires all investor-owned utilities, including Duke Energy which supplies electricity to the library, to credit the retail price to the library when its solar panels produce more power than the library uses. Net metering laws will change in July 2022, and after that, overproduction would be credited at a significantly lower rate than the retail price. However, solar systems in operation before July 2022 would continue to fall under current net metering rules until July 2032.
“PSG Energy Group is excited to support the library in its operational and sustainability goals by partnering with the library to perform final due diligence to meet community expectations,” said Jennifer Mrzlack, president of the company.
The library will not have to go through any town approvals, like the Nashville Development Review Commission, for this project because the land is zoned R2, said Phyllis Carr, town administration manager.
PSG estimates that after the LED retrofit, updating building automation and installing the solar array, the library could produce 98 percent of the electricity that was used to power the facility in 2019.
The solar array is projected to offset more than 115 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of removing 25 automobiles from the road each year.
<em>Bob Gustin is a Brown County Public Library board member.</em>
