According to the Grand Rapids Information Network, Grand Rapids is putting further planning into taking advantage of alternative power sources. In 2013, the Grand Rapids City Commission determined which site(s) in Grand Rapids would be most appropriate for utilizing alternative power, and now, the plans are being further set in stone for installing solar panels by the former Butterworth landfill along I-196.
City administrators are negotiating with a company from Lawrence, Mass., about an array of solar panels that would generate 3.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. After evaluating several options of other power sources, it was determined that these future solar panels, spreading 20 acres, would most likely add up to lower than the city’s current average power costs and would save the city $200,000 to 300,000 per year in electricity costs.
Environmental services manager Mike Lunn said that this particular solar project, titled “Butterworth Solar project” due to its location near the former Butterworth landfill, “represents a fantastic opportunity to use renewable energy to reduce the cost of turning wastewater into clean water.”
The solar panels will be installed by American Capital Energy (ACE), and the panels will send electricity across the city to the city’s wastewater treatment plant in order to meet some of their electricity demands. This was determined to be the best and most cost-effective option after much discussion by the Grand Rapids City Commission.
Three years ago, Grand Rapids installed 429 solar panels on the roof of the Water and Environmental Services Facility, a project that began to nudge the city to a rather ambitious goal of having all their electricity be powered by renewable sources by the year 2020. Though this is argued to be a far-fetched goal, Mayor-elect Rosalynn Bliss is confident that Grand Rapids will succeed. She sees that the city has options and recognizes that being committed to the job is likely to end in environmental success if Grand Rapids is able to learn from this solar project.
