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A survey of Village of Baraga residents and business owners meant to gauge the community’s interest in developing a community solar project found that most people would like to see it move forward. Of the 158 household’s surveyed, 92 (58%) said that they were in favor of the Village developing a community solar program, while 50 were uncertain, and only 12 said they were not in favor.
Community Solar is a large system of solar panels built in one centralized location and made available to households and businesses to voluntarily purchase one or more of the panels. Panel owners earn credits on their monthly electricity bills for the energy their panel(s) produce. The power generated would feed into the grid. Community solar programs eliminate the need for participating individuals to install panels on their homes or make a large upfront investment. Rates for customers who do not choose to participate would not be affected.
The Village of Baraga is currently considering a program like this for its electric utility customers. But first, they worked with the Upper Peninsula Solar Technical Assistance Team (UPSTART) to study whether this is something that people in Baraga want to do and, if so, how to design a program that will be financially accessible and meetings participant’s needs for people to buy into. UPSTART includes team members from the Villages of Baraga and L’Anse, WPPI Energy, the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR), and Michigan Technological University.
Over the last several months, UPSTART conducted a social and economic feasibility study in Baraga. They did interviews with key informants and sent a survey to all electric utility customers. While most respondents said they do support the project idea, they were less certain about whether or not they themselves would purchase panels. That would depend a lot on the cost, and if that cost would have to be paid upfront or spread out in monthly installments that could be directly deducted from the electric bill. Still, survey results suggest that there is enough interest in buying shares that the Village should consider moving forward. The program would help the community generate its own local power in an environmentally conscious manner, and at the same time, save subscribers money.
The Village of L’Anse is starting to move forward with a Community Solar project of their own. L’Anse is currently pre-selling shares to interested Village of L’Anse utility customers. They plan to build the system in spring 2019. There are three different program options (costs/credits are per panel). The first is a no down payment/ long term payment plan for income qualified customers. Subscribers pay monthly and earn monthly credits during the program duration. The second option is a short term payment plan where subscribers pay upfront and then monthly during a portion of the program. The final option is an upfront payment plan where subscribers pay the total upfront subscription cost.
Under this system, customers with an average total electricity bill of $99/month could purchase up to 33 panels and cover the full cost of their electricity. Anyone who is interested in reserving panels, should contact the L’Anse Village Office at 906-524-6116.
Ultimately, the study in Baraga showed that most people don’t know much about community solar. UPSTART team members will be presenting the results of the analysis and answering questions about community solar at several upcoming meetings in Baraga, including: the Baraga Village Council meeting on December 11th. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend or to get in touch with the team directly to learn more.
For more information about community solar in Baraga or L’Anse visit UPSTART’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/UPSTARTSOLAR/ or contact Emily Prehoda at ewprehod@mtu.edu.
