Politics & Government
Geneva Ready to Change Its Mind on Solar Energy
Panels would go in the industrial area of Averill Road instead of the open space of Prairie Green.
In August, the city of Geneva rejected a plan that would have added solar panels to the city's arsenal of power sources — and along the way gave up a shot at a $246,184 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
One of the concerns back in August was the cost. The city would have had to make a $370,000 investment in the project, and the power generated would have been "green" but more costly for residents.
At the time, 5th Ward Alderman Tom Simonian said the initiative might "give people a warm and fuzzy feeling that we’re saving the earth," but he felt it was "fiscally irresponsible" for the state of Illinois to issue such a grant, based on the state's financial woes.
That changed at Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting, when aldermen voted 9-0 to move forward with a new plan for solar power in a different location.
Back in August, Prairie Green — the 573-acre preserve on the west side of Peck Road — was the proposed site of the solar panels, and some residents and aldermen didn't think much of the aesthetics.
"When I voted for that (referendum to purchase the Prairie Green property) in 1990, I didn’t vote for solar panels," 3rd Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg said.
The situation has chanced since August.
The new proposal would put the solar panels on the Geneva Generation Facility on Averill Road. And private investors would pay to install and operate the 650 panels, according to an article in the Daily Herald.
Under the agreement with Convergence Energy, the city would pay 13 cents per kilowatt hour for the power for the length of a 25-year contract. According to agenda minutes from Aug. 17, the panels would create enough energy to support 18 to 24 single-family homes.
Presently, the city charges 11.5 cents per kWh, the Daily Herald article said.
Steve Johnson, vice president of business development for Convergence Energy, said the company still would be eligible for a $153,500 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to offset the estimated $650,000 cost of installing the panels.
The Committee of the Whole is a recommending body made up of the members of the City Council. The full council must vote to approve the action. If approved, electricity could be produced by the panels as soon as June 2014.
