Osage Utilities announces land purchase for solar array

OSAGE | Osage Municipal Utilities (OMU) has entered into a purchase agreement for a 3.5-acre plot east of Fox River Mills Inc.

The land will provide a site for the solar project OMU has been planning for nearly a year.

“We’ve finally secured what we feel will be a good site,” said Laura Kuennen of OMU. “We’ve been working on plans for the project and are very excited to move forward.”

While it’s anticipated to be a community solar project, Kuennen said it’s still in its infancy phase. OMU is encouraging customers who are seeking green energy options to consider the project for some of their energy needs. 

OMU customers will have the opportunity to subscribe to the output from the solar project in exchange for a bill credit based on the solar energy the array produces.

The project would also offer customers the benefit of renewable energy generated by the solar panels without having to use their own equipment. 

Kuennen said municipal utilities are getting into solar projects. “This is kind of the way things are going now,” she said. “We want to encourage green living and renewable energy.”

OMU has a long history of supporting energy efficiency programs and renewable energy projects for the Osage community and this project fits right into their future goals, she said.

The plan has entered the design phase, with OMU having hired KJWW Engineering Consultants of Des Moines to complete the electrical and structural engineering design specifications for the approximately 500-kilowatt system.

Once the design phase of the project is complete, OMU will bid the project. 

Timing is depended on the bidding process, Kuennen said. 

Chrystal Berche is a correspondent for the Mitchell County Press-News, another Lee Enterprises newspaper. 

Osage Utilities announces land purchase for solar array

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The Sacramento Kings have released the price tag for the downtown arena’s huge solar panels — and how much power they expect to generate.

The solar array will be installed by Solar Power Inc. (OTC: SOPW) under a deal announced in March. Officials this week provided new details, reporting that the installation will cost the team $2.5 million and generate 700 kilowatts. Installing solar power is part of the Sacramento Kings ownership’s goal to have its new sports and entertainment center be the most technologically advanced arena in the country, and that includes being efficient and using renewable energy, said John Jacobs, Kings director of public relations.

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The Sacramento Kings also is getting electricity storage technology installed by Solar Power Inc. The array is expected to meet about 15 percent of the building’s electricity needs, said Steve Kircher, the company’s Roseville-based chief strategy officer.

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The news comes as Solar Power’s CEO Roger Ye and Chief Financial Officer Amy Liu, who are based in Shanghai, will be meeting in Sacramento on Monday with Kings executives and touring the arena. The Shanghai-based executives are also attending the Solar Power International, a photovoltaic industry trade show in Anaheim this week put on by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Solar Power, which was founded in Roseville in 2006, moved its headquarters to Shanghai in January. The company has been largely financed with Chinese investment since the recession.

Under a 10-year contract with the Kings, Solar Power will own the array. The company will get signs in the building, on the floor and ongoing in-game marketing. In addition to installing commercial-scale and utility scale solar plants all over the world, the company is building up its business of residential solar.

Solar Power in 2008 installed a similarly sized array on the roof of the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At that time, it was a $6 million installation. In the intervening eight years, the cost of buying and installing solar arrays has fallen by more than half.

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Solar energy expansion makes BWL array largest in Michigan

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An expansion of the solar energy project by the Board of Water and Light will triple the amount of renewable electricity available to Lansing homes and businesses, and make the array the largest in Michigan with close to 900 panels.
 
According to excerpts from the article:
“The newer, cheaper, more efficient panels boosts the array’s generating capacity from 54 kilowatts of electricity to 158 kilowatts, the utility said in a statement. BWL General Manager J. Peter Lark said that’s enough energy to power 80 homes, with no operating or maintenance costs.”
 
Read the full article here.

Solar energy expansion makes BWL array largest in Michigan

Ikea plans largest solar array in Kansas

Ikea plans to install 2,850 solar panels on the roof of its new store opening in Merriam this fall, an array capable of generating enough electricity to power 128 homes annually.

The 92,000 square-foot rooftop array was described Wednesday as the largest in Kansas. Installation will begin as soon as the roof of the new store is completed, probably in late June.

Officials at the Swedish retailer said the solar panels will generate 1.35 million kilowatt hours of energy and reduce the store’s potential carbon dioxide emissions by 930 tons annually.

Ikea already has installed a geo-thermal component to its heating and cooling system for the 359,000 square-foot store under construction at Johnson Drive and Interstate 35.

“We are excited about furthering our sustainability commitment with solar panels on the future Merriam store,” Rob Parsons, the new store manager, said in a statement.

“As is the case with geothermal, solar energy will reduce greatly the store’s energy needs and carbon footprint as well as contribute to our vision of creating a better everyday life for many.”

Ikea contracted with SoCore Energy of Chicago to design and install its solar roof, which will begin installation next month. SoCore was described as one of the largest solar developers in the Midwest.

The firm has installed solar energy systems at 90 percent of its U.S. locations.

Ikea plans largest solar array in Kansas