During the July 11 meeting of the City of Salem’s Board of Aldermen, a discussion was had about a letter of approval for a solar grant being applied for by Missouri Public Utility Alliance, or MPUA.
According to City Administrator Sally Burbridge, the grant, if awarded, would provide MPUA with funding to install 20 megawatts worth of solar generation facilities in Mid-Missouri Municipal Power Energy Pool, or MMMPEP, member cities. MMMPEP is one of three power purchase pools within the MPUA. Salem is one of 14 participating cities in the pool, and is one of the founding members, according to Burbridge.
At an MMMPEP committee meeting on June 29, members “unanimously encouraged” MPUA staff to complete the next step in the grant application process to construct solar farms in many of the member cities, according to the staff summary for the agenda item.
“Although we will not likely have a solar farm in each city, the output of these proposed installations will benefit every MMMPEP member,” said Burbridge in the summary.
According to Burbridge, if a solar facility was installed in Salem, the project could potentially replace the need for an electric feeder line from the Sho-Me installation on P Highway.
“A secondary power source would not only provide for future power needs of a large employer, but also provide redundancy for Salem’s electric system should the single transmission line that feeds all the city’s electricity go down, or in other emergency situations,” said Burbridge in the summary.
“They are planning what is called ‘distributed solar’, so among the 14 cities that are a member of our pool, those who have properties that fit that criteria could submit those, and they’re planning on distributing in those various communities,” she said. “They would like a letter from the Mayor and the Board, showing that, yes, the city is behind this application. MPUA is actually doing the application itself.”
Burbridge said she and staff members had discussed potential locations for a solar farm in Salem. The property must be city-owned, and Burbridge said that one megawatt of power generation requires a minimum of five acres. Other considerations when looking for a site included being mostly clear of trees, as well as already being on, or near, Salem’s power distribution system.
“That way we’re not running miles and miles of distribution line,” said Burbridge. “[The facility] would be owned by MPUA; But we would obviously be the first one on the line getting the power from it.”
The potential site proposed would take up 35-40 acres of city-owned land just to the south of the Masters Industrial Park. If the solar farm is located there, the city would need to install a short transmission line from just behind Family Trash Service to the existing transformer on Pine St.
Another possible site considered was the old city landfill on H Highway.
“But, it’s not in our electric grid, and it would be very expensive to run a line to get it back into town,” said Burbridge. She said the other city-owned properties would be too small for the project.
Burbridge said another reason the Industrial Park was chosen as a possible site was to provide extra power to potential employers that might locate in the park in the future.
“If we were to recruit a heavy electric user as a business, and an employer in town, we might struggle to provide them with adequate power. Think of our electric grid as a spiderweb. From our substation in town, then the power goes out through that spiderweb. The farther out you are on that web, the less power you have at the end of it, and that’s where the Industrial Park is, right at the end of that web,” said Burbridge.
She said the possibility of installing a feeder line to the area was discussed. She said Sho-Me Power has a substation on P Highway, which could have a line installed to provide more power for a heavy user in the Industrial Park. She said a second feeder line would also give redundancy in case the single feeder line to town that currently exists went down for some reason.
“This solar field could take the place of that. And, if we’re not having to foot the bill to run a power line from P highway over, then this could be a better option for us long-term,” she said.
After discussion, Alderman Shawn Bolerjack made a motion to approve the letter of approval. Alderwoman Kala Sisco seconded, and the vote was 4-0 in favor.
