The possibility of solar energy becoming a reality in Hemingford was discussed some more during the Village of Hemingford Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, Sept. 19.
The board was given more information from GenPro Energy Solutions, a company that has been at several meetings to discuss the possibility of utilizing solar energy in Hemingford.
Molly Brown, Vice President of Energy Production, gave the board members handouts to show what a one megawatt solar farm structure would look like in Hemingford.
The handout showed 3,436 320-watt solar panels (for example: GOAL ZERO NOMAD 100 ) Brown explained that they use northwest facing solar trackers that sit in rows from north to south and follow the sun from the east to the west.
“What that allows you to do is really capture the morning sun and the afternoon sun when Nebraska Public Power District’s normal peak demands just happen to hit,” Brown said.
Brown went over two major types of financing options for the project, including a power purchase agreement and a long term municipal lease.
Brown said once the financial model is complete, she and the board could delve into some work sessions.
In other news (and related to the solar energy project discussion), the board unanimously approved signing a Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) Waiver Agreement with Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The Village of Hemingford is a wholesale municipality of NPPD.
Terry Rajewich, account manager for NPPD, was on hand to discuss the waiver with the board. Prior to making the decision to sign the waiver, the board went into executive session for about 15 minutes.
As Rajewich explained, PURPA requires a utility to purchase the output of a renewable energy qualified facility at full avoided wholesale cost. Typical qualified facilities include wind and solar projects. One of the pros that Rajewich gave for signing the waiver included that it provides protection for Hemingford with leverage in pricing negotiations.
After signing the waiver agreement, Chairman John Annen thanked both representatives from NPPD and GenPro for coming to the meeting and explaining things.
“This is a big project,” he said.
Annen said for being a small community, he feels Hemingford is being progressive for looking at something like this and trying to get something accomplished.
“Without you guys working together, we would never get this accomplished and I really appreciate it,” he said.
Rajewich said this will be an educational process for the community.
The board also stated they would be strongly interested in holding a town hall meeting down the road to further discuss solar energy.
In other news, the board took action on and/or discussed the following items:
• Heard from Hemingford resident Terry Elliot, who said he’d like to be notified by the Village office when a tenant of his rental notifies the Village that they are moving. Elliot said his reasoning for this was that he would want to have services to the home shut off rather than have them go back into his name as the landlord. While several board members stated it isn’t the Village’s responsibility to do this, the board stated they would check with the League Association of Risk Management (LARM) to see what their options are with possibly making a policy regarding the matter.
• Heard a Utility Department update from Utility Supervisor Kyle Huss. Huss stated the Utility Department found some more line work that will need to be done. They’d like to get it complete before winter, he said. The pool and baseball field have been winterized. Huss also stated he and Utility Department employee Colt Frahm attended a water conference recently in Gering. Huss also reported that last month’s water test came back good.
• Heard a Police Department update from Police Chief Dusty Bryner. Bryner reported that things have been going well the last few months. Regarding an ordinance stating unlicensed vehicles are not to be parked on the roadway, Bryner said people have been very receptive to this and vehicles are getting moved. Board member Lynda Novotny also thanked Bryner for the Hemingford Police Department’s presence at the recent street dance in Hemingford. Bryner said there were no issues at the dance and it gave them an opportunity to walk around and visit with the public.
• Heard an administrator’s report from Village Administrator Barb Straub. Straub said they have new computers up and running in the office and that they’re working great. She also noted that the Village’s budget has been submitted to the State and all other necessary entities.
The board’s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17.
