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Installation of a potential solar array at Sierra College's Nevada County Campus could be delayed into next year, officials at the community college said Tuesday.
Contract negotiations with San Diego-based AMSOLAR fizzled last week, said Facilities Director Laura Doty. There are no funds left in a California energy rebate account that would have reimbursed AMSOLAR 15 cents per kilowatt hour for energy produced at the Grass Valley campus, Doty said. The result is AMSOLAR's price for energy would have eclipsed what the college is currently paying for electricity.
“One of the ground rules with this project is that it can't cost the college any more for energy than what we're paying now,” Doty said. “The AMSOLAR deal didn't pencil out for us.”
The college is now negotiating with Berkeley, Calif.-based Borrego Solar, Doty said. Borrego has installed other solar arrays at public schools, according to the company's website.
If negotiations go well, the contract could come before the Sierra College Board of Trustees meeting in September and construction could start as early as the end of the year, Doty said. The school originally targeted
this summer for construction to begin on the array.
“We are committed to a solar project that saves Sierra College money on day one, and I'm pleased that our staff planned ahead for the possibility that things wouldn't work out with the first place firm,” said Sierra College Trustee Aaron Klein, who represents parts of Nevada County. “We continue to be excited about the potential of being better stewards of our planet while saving precious dollars in our operating budget.”
Officials at Borrego were unavailable for comment Tuesday.
College officials hope to sign a contract with Borrego to provide 90 percent of the energy at Sierra College's Grass Valley campus and 20 percent at its main Rocklin campus. The addition of a 1,300-kilowatt solar array could drop the Nevada County campus' power expenditure from 17 cents per kilowatt hour to 16 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the college.
The savings should be apparent in year one, as Borrego will pay for the installation and operation of the array and sell the theoretically cheaper power back to the college, Klein said previously.
To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
Contract negotiations with San Diego-based AMSOLAR fizzled last week, said Facilities Director Laura Doty. There are no funds left in a California energy rebate account that would have reimbursed AMSOLAR 15 cents per kilowatt hour for energy produced at the Grass Valley campus, Doty said. The result is AMSOLAR's price for energy would have eclipsed what the college is currently paying for electricity.
“One of the ground rules with this project is that it can't cost the college any more for energy than what we're paying now,” Doty said. “The AMSOLAR deal didn't pencil out for us.”
The college is now negotiating with Berkeley, Calif.-based Borrego Solar, Doty said. Borrego has installed other solar arrays at public schools, according to the company's website.
If negotiations go well, the contract could come before the Sierra College Board of Trustees meeting in September and construction could start as early as the end of the year, Doty said. The school originally targeted
this summer for construction to begin on the array.
“We are committed to a solar project that saves Sierra College money on day one, and I'm pleased that our staff planned ahead for the possibility that things wouldn't work out with the first place firm,” said Sierra College Trustee Aaron Klein, who represents parts of Nevada County. “We continue to be excited about the potential of being better stewards of our planet while saving precious dollars in our operating budget.”
Officials at Borrego were unavailable for comment Tuesday.
College officials hope to sign a contract with Borrego to provide 90 percent of the energy at Sierra College's Grass Valley campus and 20 percent at its main Rocklin campus. The addition of a 1,300-kilowatt solar array could drop the Nevada County campus' power expenditure from 17 cents per kilowatt hour to 16 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the college.
The savings should be apparent in year one, as Borrego will pay for the installation and operation of the array and sell the theoretically cheaper power back to the college, Klein said previously.
To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
