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Aug 05, 2023

Rooftop solar coming to wastewater plant

City Government Reporter Ekren Waste sludge at the Traverse City Regional

City Government Reporter

Ekren

Waste sludge at the Traverse City Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

TRAVERSE CITY — Sunlight could power part of the Traverse City Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant's operations, thanks to a grant for nearly $1.7 million.

The Michigan Public Service Commission awarded $1,685,479 so the city can build a roughly 965-panel, 434-kilowatt array on the wastewater plant's rooftops, according to a release.

It should generate about 510 megawatt-hours per year, or about 10 percent of the 5,048 megawatt-hours the plant uses annually.

All told, the array should save the city about $1,025,000 in electricity over its 25-year lifespan and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 300 metric tons per year, according to the release.

Art Krueger, the city's municipal utilities director, called it a great project that makes use of the space available.

"There isn't a lot there, so on the rooftops it makes sense," Krueger said. "I think it's a win for the city to have the ability to build something like this."

The city also is coordinating with its electrical utility, Traverse City Light & Power, on the project, Krueger said. It includes a battery storage system with a 1.75 megawatt-hour capacity. That is capable of storing power to be used later when needed the most, and can serve as a backup as well, along with various generators at the plant to run its essential systems.

Both Krueger and TCL&P Executive Director Brandie Ekren called the project a stride toward the city's clean energy goals.

Ekren explained how pairing solar and battery storage will give the plant the benefit of photovoltaic energy – even when the sun isn't shining.

Storing power in a huge battery can help an electric utility shave its peak demand, Ekren said Thursday. By using that stored power at one of the utility's largest consumers, TCL&P can meet the needs of other users when demand is highest.

"Being able to do a distributed energy placement like solar arrays on top of the wastewater treatment plant, that will be paired with battery storage, will allow us an opportunity to kind of see how that project is serving the energy needs," she said.

It's also right out of the utility's climate action plan, Ekren said. While still in draft form, two of the six strategies for a carbon emissions-free electrical grid are a part of the project.

The grant should cover a good chunk of the project's $1,921,245 budget, but there's a $235,765 gap, Interim City Manager Nate Geinzer told city commissioners at their meeting Monday. There are several possibilities for filling it, including using some of the American Rescue Plan Act money that the city has not yet tagged for other projects.

Geinzer said he preferred to keep looking for funding to fill the gap rather than scale back the project, and city commissioners agreed it should be built as designed.

Other options for lining up the rest of the money include looking into the Inflation Reduction Act, Geinzer said, referring to the recently passed law that includes tax breaks and other incentives to produce and use clean energy.

Ekren

City Government Reporter

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